MIAMI – Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry are enjoying their first taste of the Big Easy.
The friends and former Ryder Cup teammates are tied for the lead after the opening round of the PGA Tour’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans on April 25 in Avondale, Louisiana.
After hitting Bourbon Street for a steak dinner before the tournament, McIlroy and Lowry shot an 11-under 61 in the four-ball (best ball) action, racking up 11 birdies without a bogey.
It was a stellar showing from the European pair, who have five Major titles between them, on their Zurich debut.
“We’re staying downtown. We’ve ventured out a couple of times. Yeah, it’s a cool city, great food scene,” Ulsterman McIlroy said.
“It’s nice to come here, team up with a really good friend, and it’ll be awesome to try to get a win on the PGA Tour with a friend beside me. I thought the support that we got was amazing. Looking forward to more of that over the next three days.”
The duo ripped off four straight birdies en route to a six-under 30 on the front nine, then came home in five-under 31.
They are tied with the teams of Ryan Brehm and Mark Hubbard, Ben Kohles and Patton Kizzire, and David Lipsky and Aaron Rai.
“I definitely felt today I was less hard on myself than I’ve been in the last few weeks when I hit a couple of bad shots. It’s nice to know you’ve got Rory McIlroy backing you up,” Irishman Lowry said.
“But yeah, I definitely feel like there’s a nice vibe out there with the two of us. We know each other’s games so well. We’ve played a lot of golf. We play a lot of golf at home together, and we just know each other so well.”
The other three teams tied for the lead did what McIlroy and Lowry did – 11 birdies without a bogey. Lowry said starting off strong during four-balls was crucial because of how low everyone could go.
The teams will play foursomes (alternate shot) – considered the more difficult of the two formats – on April 26 before the 36-hole cut. They will proceed to play four-balls on April 27 and foursomes on April 28.
“Looking forward to getting out in foursomes. Should be fun, as well. It’s a format that’s tougher, but it is an enjoyable format,” Lowry added.
One stroke off the lead are Davis Thompson and Andrew Novak, Cameron Champ and MJ Daffue, and Thomas Detry and Robert MacIntyre. REUTERS, AFP
