Echavarria - who was three shots back with three holes left - shot a five-under 66 on Sunday to win at PGA National, finishing at 17-under 267 and beating Irish star Lowry (69), Austin Smotherman (69) and Taylor Moore (68) by two shots.
"To win out here, sometimes you have to have good breaks if you're not Scottie Scheffler that hits it every time in the perfect place. So, I'm happy with how it went," said Echavarria, who went bogey-free at the weekend.
Lowry - who remains snakebit by PGA National, where he has now finished in the top 11 for five straight years without a victory - was undone by consecutive double bogeys at the par-4 16th and par-3 17th, both resulting from tee shots that drifted way right and into the water.
"I had the tournament in my hands and I threw it away," Lowry said. "What more can I say?"
It was Echavarria's third PGA Tour win and first in the US, and this one earned a second Masters invitation for the 31-year-old. The $US1.728 million winner's cheque was the biggest of his career.
He could use the cash, too. Echavarria bought a house in South Florida last week, and promised his wife that when he got his third win, they would add a dog to the family.
Lowry — who also had Sunday leads at PGA National in 2022 and 2024 — was rolling along, chipping in for birdie on the par-4 ninth to start a run where he went five under in a five-hole stretch.
And he had a three-shot lead over Echavarria going to the par-4 16th. That's where his nightmare began.
Lowry's long iron off the tee was way right and found the water. After a penalty drop, he hit a wedge back to the fairway and his fourth shot found a greenside bunker. From an awkward stance, he blasted to 3 1/2 feet and rolled in the putt for double bogey — trimming his lead to one.
While all that was happening, Echavarria hit his approach on the par-3 17th to about 10 feet. He made the putt to pull into a tie.
Lowry then made another double at 17 with an iron shot that was well short and right. He needed a miracle on the par-5 18th after playing his second shot into a greenside bunker. His shot skidded by, and Echavarria — in the scoring tent, watching the finish — knew he had won.
Lowry was second in 2022 when the event was still called the Honda Classic, losing the lead after getting caught in a deluge on the final hole. He tied for fifth at PGA National a year later, had the solo lead going into the final round before finishing tied for fourth in 2024, then tied for 11th last year.
This was, on paper, his best finish at PGA National. It just didn't feel that way.
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