The Clara man was cruising around a rain-softened TPC Sawgrass, two-under for the day and bogey-free as he headed down his final five holes.
A missed par putt from around four-and-a-half feet at the 14th was a setback but he then made a double-bogey six at the 460-yard 15th, taking four to get down from heavy greenside rough, before suffering another painful finish.
He three-putted from long range for a par-five at the 16th for par and while he made a superb birdie two at the 17th, two visits to the water at the tough 18th led to a gut-wrenching eight.
Lowry was tied for 99th in the 123-man field when play was suspended with four players still to finish their rounds, and Collin Morikawa was a casualty as he injured his back making…