Shane Lowry had not missed more than three cuts in a PGA Tour season since 2020-21. This year, however, the Irishman has already fallen short on four occasions in just 14 starts, including a disappointing exit at the U.S. Open. That frustrating stretch seems to have reached a boiling point, as the former Open Championship winner made a significant change in his search for answers this season.

Golfweek writer Adam Schupak reported that Lowry parted ways with caddie Darren Reynolds after MC at the U.S. Open.

For the 2026 Travelers Championship, the 39-year-old has turned to his former caddie Dermot Byrne. However, Schupak reported that the arrangement is only for this week’s event, with Lowry still undecided about who will carry his bag moving forward.

“We’ll see what the plan is going forward. No idea really,” the Irishman said.

The decision comes amid a difficult run of form for Lowry, who has slipped from No. 26 to No. 45 in the Official World Golf Ranking this year. Following his early exit at Shinnecock Hills, he admitted his frustrations were beginning to mount.

“Golf is just not agreeing with me at the moment,” Lowry said after the U.S. Open. “I’m not enjoying it. I didn’t have any fun this week.”

Lowry and Reynolds had known each other for a long time before they began working together. When his former caddie, Bo Martin, was unavailable during the COVID-19 pandemic, Lowry asked Reynolds to step in for a handful of events.

Reynolds later joined Lowry on a trial basis after Martin’s departure, and the partnership eventually became permanent. Even then, Lowry admitted he was hesitant about approaching someone who had only recently started another job on tour.

“I’ve known Darren for years. He had just started with Alex Levy on the European Tour. That’s almost why I didn’t want to ask him, because I knew he just got a new job and I didn’t want to take him away and then it not work out for us. But, frankly, he was one of the few options I had, and we just had a chat,” the three-time PGA Tour winner said in an interview with Golf.com.

It did work out, though, and the results were immediate. After the WM Phoenix Open, he recorded top-five finishes at the Cognizant Classic and Arnold Palmer Invitational before going on to win the Zurich Classic alongside Rory McIlroy later that year.

That spark in their partnership continued in 2025. Although the Irishman did not win an event, he registered 12 top-25 finishes in 20 starts, including runner-up finishes at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the Truist Championship.

However, the momentum has not carried into 2026. Through 14 starts, Lowry has managed just two top-10 finishes and five top-25s, with four missed cuts already on his record.

They also shared several memorable moments together away from regular PGA Tour events.

After the Zurich Classic victory in 2024, Reynolds posted a photo alongside Lowry on Instagram and wrote: “Some Sundays are better, what a week love this team.”

The pair were also together for Europe’s victorious Ryder Cup campaigns, including the 2025 edition, where Lowry delivered one of the defining moments of the week.

“I said to (caddie) Darren (Reynolds) walking down 18, I said, ‘I have a chance to do the coolest thing in my life here,'” Lowry recalled after helping secure victory for Team Europe.

But that partnership is now over. And given Lowry’s history, it was not a decision likely made lightly.

Lowry has never been known for regularly changing caddies. Byrne spent roughly a decade on his bag before their split in 2018, while Bo Martin later helped guide him to his 2019 Open Championship triumph at Royal Portrush. Reynolds became just the third full-time caddie of Lowry’s professional career.

The Irishman later admitted that parting ways with Byrne during The Open in 2018 was a mistake and acknowledged that the move unfairly shifted attention toward a longtime friend. That history makes his latest caddie change all the more notable.

For now, Lowry has turned back to Byrne for support. Whether that reunion becomes permanent remains to be seen, but for the immediate future, the former Open champion is hoping a familiar face can help him rediscover the form that has been missing for much of 2026.