MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Even after his emotional missed cut at The Open last week, Rory McIlroy said he did watch the final round at Royal Portrush and that he traded text messages with champion Shane Lowry.

“He texted me on Friday night and sort of gave me a couple of words of encouragement, and that was nice. He said to me, ‘I'll see you in Memphis [at this week’s WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational],’” McIlroy said. “I said, ‘Well, I hope I don't see you in Memphis because hopefully you’re still drinking out of the claret jug.’”

Lowry withdrew from this week’s World Golf Championship to stay at home in Ireland and enjoy what has been a prolonged celebration.

“I texted him straight after and I sort of said to him, look, it's going to change your life,” McIlroy said. “It's so different. You saw it yesterday when he went back home to his hometown and the amount of people that came out to see him. It is a life-changer, especially doing it there at Portrush. He's going to be a national hero for the rest of his life.”

McIlroy said he plans to take Lowry out for dinner in two weeks in New York during The Northern Trust.

“I said to him, ‘I need to bring you out for dinner and have to have a couple sort of celebratory drinks,’” McIlroy said. “I'm looking forward to seeing him and just so happy for him.”