The pairing of Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry seemed like a winner from the first press release. And sure enough, as the sun was setting on TPC Louisiana, it was the Irish duo who were standing (and hugging) in the winner’s circle, as champions of the 2024 Zurich Classic.
“Absolutely amazing. We’ve had an awesome week here in New Orleans. The crowds all week have been absolutely amazing,” said McIlroy, who recorded his 25th career PGA Tour title with the win. “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.
“But couldn’t be better to have this man alongside me to get a PGA Tour win together.”
McIlroy and Lowry arrived for Sunday’s finale at TPC Louisiana tied for third, two shots off the pace. The high-profile twosome got off to a slow start, though, and found themselves four shots back before even making the turn. Four birdies in a five-hole span (Nos. 7, 8, 10 and 11), however, sent them soaring up the leaderboard, eventually leading to a final-round score of 68 to reach -25, and forcing a playoff with Chad Ramey and Martin Trainer (63).
In overtime, Ramey and Trainer made a mess of the extra hole (the par-5 18th), allowing McIlroy and Lowry to make a tap-in par and claim victory.
But a win is a win… and always welcome.
“It’s great. Saying it was much needed, but we felt like coming into the week that we both could do with a big jump in the FedEx Cup, and we both said at the start of the week, let’s go and get 400 points each,” said Lowry, who last won on the PGA Tour in 2019 at the British Open.
“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. But yeah, they’re mine, and they’re not going away.”
Ryan Brehm and Mark Hubbard (69) finished solo third on 24 under.
Third-round leaders Zac Blair and Patrick Fishburn nearly joined the playoff but made double bogey on the 17th to fall two off the pace. They finished T4 at -23.
Final Top-5 Leaders
Pos-Team-To Par (Final Rd)
1. McIlroy / Lowry -25 (-4)
2. Ramey / Trainer -25 (-9)
3. Brehm / Hubbard -24 (-3)
4. Higgo / Fox -23 (-7)
4. Stevens / Barjon -23 (-5)
4. Blair / Fishburn -23 (E)
