Rory McIlroy's two-year row with Shane Lowry after 'money became root of all evil'

When won the 2025 , he was warmly welcomed by his childhood rival and now close friend Shane Lowry at Augusta National. The reunion was particularly poignant given that there was a time when the two Irish golfers were at odds with each other.

After triumphing over and claim his first Major title since 2014, McIlroy was met by Lowry. Despite a disappointing weekend that saw him finish T42 at four over par, Lowry waited for McIlroy as he made his way through the crowd of cheering supporters and past champions donning their iconic green jackets. Their heartfelt embrace nearly moved McIlroy to tears once more. Such a moment seemed impossible back in 2013 when the pair were not on speaking terms due to a significant rift.

In 2022, McIlroy revealed that financial issues lay at the core of their disagreement. Both Lowry and McIlroy were clients of Horizon Sports agency in 2013. McIlroy had a dispute with the agency and decided to leave for another management company.

Reflecting on their relationship and the cause of their past conflict, McIlroy told the Irish Independent: "I would say very close early on, not-so-close in the middle, and closer than ever now. We're being managed by the same person [Conor Ridge], in the same agency [Horizon Sports]. Then I had a fall-out with Horizon in 2013, it got a bit messy for a couple of years, not because one of us had done wrong to the other, but because of the circumstances."

The rift between them was eventually healed in Belfast, following Lowry's triumph at the 2015 Bridgestone Invitational. Recalling the moment they made amends, McIlroy added: "Shane won in Akron and I reached out to him. The Sports Personality of the Year was in Belfast that year, and we went for a few drinks afterwards and had a really good chat.

"So it's really nice since he started playing here that we've got close again. Erica and Wendy [Shane's wife] get on great, and our kids are a similar age. It's all good."

When questioned about the reason behind their past disagreement, McIlroy candidly replied: "Do you know what it was over? Money, exactly. It's the root of all evil."

The friendship between Lowry and McIlroy has grown even stronger since then, as evident in their celebratory moments at Augusta. Despite having a difficult final round himself, Lowry's joy for McIlroy was palpable when they shared an emotional hug. Viewers of 's 'Full Swing' series won't be surprised by Lowry's genuine happiness for McIlroy.

In one episode, when asked if he felt protective of McIlroy, Lowry responded: "Nobody's ever asked me that. But now that you say it, I probably would do, yeah. He gets a lot of unnecessary criticism from the general public, the golf media, the other players.

"Stuff like that can weigh heavily on people. I just feel like he gets a lot of s***. When you're Rory McIlroy and you're the greatest player of our generation, people are not themselves around you.

"So you meet people, you go hang out with them, and they're not themselves. But when I hang out with him, I'm just myself. I think I'm probably a breath of fresh air to his life at times where he can just get away, be himself and be normal. I feel like I'm good for him - but he's also really good for me as well."