The night before their last round in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans team event, Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry turned up at the famed creole French Quarter restaurant Arnaud’s and earned a standing ovation.
“The captivating 34-year-old McIlroy had never played at TPC Louisiana, but they also boasted the biggest, loudest galleries there.” Lowry joked as McIlroy laughed.
With a nerve-wracking par on the opening hole of a playoff, McIlroy and Lowry defeated Chad Ramey and Martin Trainer to win on Sunday.
It ended with Lowry giving a laughing McIlroy a bear embrace on the green as Trainer pushed a 6-foot par putt to the right of the cup.
“Winning a PGA TOUR tournament is an amazing feeling, but it’s even more amazing to share the moment with a good buddy. We have been friends for a very long time ; probably more than 20 years. To be on this platform and do this together, to reflect on where we met and where we’ve come from. Being a part of this adventure has been very, truly fantastic.” McIlroy said.
Northern Ireland’s McIlroy won his first championship of the year and his 25th on the PGA TOUR. Ireland’s Lowry won his third tournament on the PGA TOUR. 400 FedExCup points and approximately $1.29 million were taken away by each.
“Thousands of people have shown up to support us. I’m aware of how awesome that is. The little boy in me finds it all extremely exciting and cool when I get to play in front of thousands of people.” McIlroy said.
In windy circumstances, the Irish combination finished the Foursomes final round at 4-under 68 to tie Ramey and Trainer at 25-under 263.
With nine birdies between the seventh and 18th holes, Ramey and Trainer raced to the top of the leaderboard, having started the day tied for 27th place at 16 under. They had to wait over 3 hours to find out if their lead would hold up after they tied the Foursomes tournament record of 63.
Trainer’s drive into the left rough opened the playoff hole. Along the 18th green, Ramey also pulled his approach left, off the cart path and into the wall beneath the suites. Then, before Ramey could finally get his squad on the green, trainer chipped short.
“Golf is obviously difficult, and sometimes your luck runs out. We tried our hardest and gave it our all and really, that’s all you can ask for” Trainer said.
Though Ramey emphasised that “there’s a lot of really good things to take from this week, and that’s what I’m going to do,” he and Trainer expressed their disappointment.
Putting an approach in a bunker and then leaving a birdie putt for the win on the edge of the cup, Lowry missed his mark twice on the playoff hole.
However, Lowry had saved the day on the last regular hole, forcing a playoff with a short putt on the 18th par-5, taking advantage of McIlroy’s clever lofted chip from the apron that stopped near the pin.
Mark Hubbard and Ryan Brehm also came close to making the playoffs. Their second shot off the 18th green went long because they needed a birdie. The fans gasped when Brehm came dangerously close to making a birdie putt, leaving the ball close to the right side of the cup, after Hubbard’s chip up the back apron stopped short on the fringe. Third place was theirs at 24-under.
Prior to the par-3 17th hole, former BYU teammates Patrick Fishburn and Zach Blair were tied for the lead after three rounds. However, Fishburn chipped short and Blair’s tee shot landed right off the green, forcing him to record a double bogey. At 23-under, they finished in a four-way tie for 4th place.
Prior to the par-3 17th hole, former BYU teammates Patrick Fishburn and Zach Blair were tied for the lead after 3 rounds. However, Fishburn chipped short and Blair’s tee shot landed right off the green, forcing him to record a double bogey. At 23-under, they finished in a four-way tie for 4th place.
Lowry and McIlroy started the day two strokes behind the lead. Lowry’s tee shot into the woods on the right side of the course started the round, and they bogeyed two of the first three holes before McIlroy hit the first of four birdie putts over the next five holes to start their comeback on the 7th.
During the final stretch, McIlroy made two mistakes that could have cost him a lot ; on the 13th par-4, he missed the green with his approach shot, and on the 16th short par-4, he hit the ball short into a fairway bunker.
On the 13th, McIlroy saved par after Lowry chipped to roughly 10 feet. With his approach ball from the sand on No. 16, Lowry hit the left side of the green, and McIlroy played the putter to the right to put his team in a tie for first at 25-under.
“I think what really helped us was being able to rely on each other a little bit,” McIlroy remarked.
Lowry’s fading tee shot ended up in the gallery to the right of the green, and McIlroy’s chip over the ridge of a bunker ran past the hole, leaving the Irishmen with a bogey on the 17th.
This implied that in order to force a playoff, they would need to make a birdie on the 18th. Beginning with McIlroy’s brilliant, clutch tee shot into the fairway bordered by water, they succeeded.
“At one point in our lives, Shane and I decided to give golf a try because we believed it would be enjoyable. It’s always beneficial to add a little bit of that fun back into things, especially in a week like this one.” McIlroy said.
