McIlroy gets a major lift by letting his hair down
THEY goofed around. They ate chargrilled oysters on the 10th tee during the Pro-Am and were given a standing ovation from fellow diners at a restaurant in the French Quarter on Saturday night.
And when it was over, they hugged and slugged beers on stage, wearing Mardi Gras beads. McIlroy even burst into song. In the midst of the Jazz Fest, and the NFL draft, the Rory-Shane roadshow became the hottest sports ticket in New Orleans.
Even though the Zurich Classic, a low-key pit-stop on the PGA Tour, assembled a field of mostly unheralded journeymen for a team event format unfancied by many.
Even though it was up against LIV Golf in Adelaide, with Rahm, Koepka, Cam Smith, DJ, and the rest of their crew, laughing all the way to the bank.
All week in New Orleans, McIlroy chilled out with Lowry
It was saved by two Irishmen who smiled their way to victory, banked $1.3million apiece, and a chunk of FedEx Cup points.
Lowry is up to 12th from 41st in the standings, McIlroy 15th from 44th.
It was McIlroy’s first win on US turf in 2024, and Lowry’s first in nine years. Nine years. No wonder he lifted his playing partner to the Louisiana skies in a bear hug by the final green on Sunday. And McIlroy grinned nonstop. This was a different McIlroy to the one we’d seen so far this year.
Earlier this month, he rocked up at Augusta, said little before, during or after the Masters while trundling past the post outside the top 20. Lowry was never a factor at the Masters either.
They each needed a pick-meup, and together in New Orelans they got one. Maybe they each need to relax more, to free-wheel into events as if they’re having a blast whatever happens. Miss a putt? So what. Smile, don’t scowl. Sure the next one will drop.
All week in New Orleans, McIlroy chilled out with Lowry. They are friends since their amateur days on Irish duty and are regular practice partners. The chemistry between them flowed.
At one point, during a foursomes round, Lowry missed going into the water on the parthree 17th by a whisker and promptly collapsed on to his back in relief. While McIlroy enjoyed himself so much, he indulged in a twirl with an iron coming down the stretch. That’s a welcome sight rarely witnessed in 2024.
Ahead of his 35th birthday on Saturday, the kid re-surfaced in McIlroy. Claiming his 25th PGA Tour title, he was out for a round with a pal and having a blast.
Lowry, too, was clearly loosened, which he also needs to do more in regular tournament play. He is too talented to wait nine more years between wins in the US.
It was McIlroy who suggested to Lowry that they play together in New Orleans, and he’s already said they’re returning next year.
Before that, there are three majors coming down the tracks in the next 11 weeks, starting with the PGA in Valhalla, Kentucky, where McIlroy last won a major in 2014.
There is also the Olympics in Paris in early August — if only it was a team event the Irish duo would be hot favourites — with the FedEx Cup play-offs, PGA at Wentworth and Irish Open to come.
During the second series of Netflix’s Full Swing, McIlroy spoke of needing ‘a reboot’ of his game when he finished seventh to Koepka in the PGA last May.
He doesn’t need a reboot. He doesn’t need to go to Butch Harmon for wise words. He just has to let his game flow. A few laughs along the way won’t do him any harm. With his influence, if he can have a word with those who decide the draw and he gets to play with Lowry now and then, that might be productive too, for both men.
McIlroy and Lowry are box office for the PGA Tour, and are nailed on for Europe for the 2025 Ryder Cup in Bethpage.
Those who jumped ship for LIV are making money, and maybe having fun too, but they’re no longer competitive.
In the 54-strong field in Adelaide, Sergio Garcia was 40th, Graeme McDowell 46th, Henrik Stenson 51st and Ian Poulter 52nd. Four potential Ryder Cup captains who jumped ship.
McIlroy and Lowry, also future skippers, stayed put, in a working environment they were, and are, committed to.
On Sunday evening, McIlroy belted out Journey’s Don’t Stop Believin’ and wowed the fans, just as he did between the ropes over the four days.
When it comes to that overdue fifth major, McIlroy can’t stop believing that it won’t happen.
RORY McIlroy chugged a beer before serenading fans in New Orleans with a rendition of Don’t Stop Believin’ as he celebrated winning the Zurich Classic with Shane Lowry on Sunday.
Co. Down man McIlroy and Offaly native Lowry came through a playoff to win the competition at TPC Louisiana, having put it on their respective schedules in a bid to jump up the FedEx Cup standings.
And after defeating US golfer Chad Ramey and France’s Martin Trainer on the first playoff hole, the pair celebrated their victory with a few beers and a live band playing Journey’s famous 1981 hit.
In footage shared on the PGA Tour’s social media, McIlroy, 34, is seen chugging
‘It’s absolutely amazing – it couldn’t be better’
his beer on stage while Lowry, 37, laughs alongside him.
When the band started playing Don’t Stop Believin’ by Journey, McIlroy took the mic and belted out his best vocals for the supporters in attendance, who sang back to him.
It marked McIlroy’s 25th PGA Tour win and Lowry’s third. Lowry had not won on US soil since August 2015.
‘It’s absolutely amazing,’ McIlroy said on CBS Sports. ‘It couldn’t be better than to do it with this man alongside me.’
Lowry added: ‘Coming into the week we felt we could do with a big jump for the FedEx Cup – let’s get 400 points each, and that’s what we’ve done.’