Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images
The all-Irish duo of McIlroy and Lowry came from behind Sunday to capture the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.
The PGA Tour is in New Orleans this week for the only team event on tour, the Zurich Classic.
Despite a tumultuous round by Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry, the Irish duo came out on top in a playoff over Martin Trainer and Chad Ramey.
It is McIlroy’s 25th career victory on the PGA Tour. Lowry notched his third and his first since winning The Open in 2019. But it was the former that did most of the heavy lifting.
“Let’s go and get 400 [FedEx Cup] points each. That’s what we’ve done, and I nearly feel a little bit bad taking them because Rory carried me a lot of the way,” Lowry said with a smile after the win.
Nearly three hours before the 72nd hole had been played by all teams, Trainer and Ramey entered the clubhouse at 25-under par. A number of pairs were already at or just below that number with practically an entire round to play.
Yet, windy conditions made scoring very difficult as no one would finish any lower.
A bogey on 17 for McIlroy and Lowry dropped them one shot off the pace. But the Northern Irishman made up for it on 18 with a fantastic chip. That set up a short birdie putt, which Lowry drained to get into the playoff.
In the playoff, Ramey and Trainer’s rust showed. Two hours and 54 minutes after they finished their round, Trainer’s tee shot missed the fairway left. Despite getting a clean lie just short of the fairway bunker, Ramey yanked his 3-wood well left of the green.
Meanwhile, McIlroy’s tee shot found the fairway. Lowry’s approach came up just short, nestling into the greenside bunker. But they were still in decent shape.
Trainer chunked his third and Ramey chipped up near the hole, leaving a makable 5-footer for par.
McIlroy hit a decent bunker shot, which left his fellow Irishman with 10 feet for the win. But just like much of the week, Lowry’s putter failed him. He missed the putt just above the hole and it appeared as though a massive opportunity slipped away.
Moments later though, Trainer inexplicably missed his short par putt, sealing the victory for McIlroy and Lowry.
Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images
Shane Lowry and Rory McIlroy embrace after winning the Zurich Classic of New Orleans
“Absolutely amazing. We’ve had an awesome week here in New Orleans. The crowds all week have been absolutely amazing. To get the support that we’ve had out there and to have so much fun while doing it, it’s been an awesome week, and obviously I feel like it’s just a bonus to win at the end,” McIlroy said.
“But couldn’t be better to have this man alongside me to get a PGA Tour win together.”
It likely was not the way they envisioned winning, but a victory is a victory, however it comes.
This was McIlroy’s first time playing in this event. He had such a great time and received such a warm welcome, that he already let everyone know his future plans.
“I’d say we’re going to come back and defend next year.”
In a much-needed boost, Lowry and McIlroy jumped to 12th and 15th respectively on the FedEx Cup points list with the win.
Kendall Capps is the Senior Editor of SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social media platforms.
