Shane Lowry life decision receives praise from Rory McIlroy

The Masters Champion was pleased with his fellow Irishman

Lowry finished joint second with Justin Thomas and suffered late heartbreak to eventual winner Sepp Stranka, who finished on -16, with bogeys on 16 and 18 leading to Irishman finishing on -14 after being tied with Straka with three holes to go.

The 38-year-old still broke into the world's top 10 as a result of being runner-up and McIlroy, who finished in a tie for seventh on -10, spoke on his friend's growth since moving to Florida in 2017 while waiting in vain to see if Lowry would be victorious.

McIlroy said: "I just feel like I've seen such a big improvement in his consistency week to week because of where he lives, being able to practice in great conditions on great golf courses, get in games with the likes of myself or Rickie or JT or whoever lives down in Jupiter."

"We practice and play together so much at home. Just the back and forth from Ireland is tough. Even this time of the year, it's still hard to practice over there."

"It's been amazing as his friend to see him play so well and so consistently. I'm going to hang around here and hopefully see him get the job done."

Lowry and McIlroy will turn their attentions to Quail Hollows, where both men will compete in the PGA Championship this week.