McIlroy, Lowry win Zurich in playoff
Irish eyes smiled upon TPC Louisiana on Sunday as Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry prevailed in a playoff to win the Zurich Classic of New Orleans in McIlroy's debut at the team tournament in Avondale, La.
McIlroy, the four-time major champ from Northern Ireland, and Lowry, his Irish friend, fellow major winner and onetime Ryder Cup teammate, put the Zurich on their schedule hoping to jump up the FedEx Cup standings. They'll each receive 400 FedEx Cup points after defeating Chad Ramey and France's Martin Trainer on the first playoff hole.
After starting the day seven shots off the lead, Ramey and Trainer fired a 9under 63 in Sunday's round of foursomes (alternate shot) to head to the clubhouse at 25-under 263. Other teams in the 25-under range soon wobbled and fell back – including McIlroy and Lowry, for a brief time, before they rebounded from a bogey at No. 17 with a birdie at the par-5 18th hole to force the playoff.
They returned to the 18th tee to begin the playoff, and Ramey's second shot hooked left over the gallery. Trainer couldn't hit his third shot hard enough onto the green. Meanwhile, Lowry put his team in the bunker on the second shot but McIlroy made a nice recovery shot – similar to his pitch shot on the 72nd hole to set up Lowry's 5-foot birdie that forced the playoff.
Lowry's birdie try in the playoff came to rest inches right of the cup, but Trainer pushed his short par putt that would have extended the playoff.
It marked McIlroy's 25th PGA Tour win and Lowry's third. Lowry had not won on U.S. soil since August 2015.
Ryan Brehm and Mark Hubbard shot a 69 and finished one shot out of the playoff after finishing with four straight pars. Brehm missed a must-have birdie at No. 18.
LIV Golf
Brendan Steele closed with a 4-under 68 on Sunday to hold off Louis Oosthuizen
and win the LIV Golf Adelaide championship by one stroke in South Australia.
It was the first victory since the 2017 Safeway Open on the PGA Tour for the 41-year-old American, who carded a 54hole total of 18-under 198. Steele began the day with a one-shot lead and birdied five consecutive holes on the front nine at The Grange Golf Club, building enough of a cushion to survive Oosthuizen's charge. The South African shot a 7-under 65 to lose by one stroke.
“Really surreal,” said Steele, whose trophy is the first for his HyFlyers GC team. “I'm pretty overwhelmed, but to win this event is really special. I can't say enough good things about the fans and the golf course and the whole experience this week.”
Five players finished tied for third, two strokes back at 16 under, including South Africa's Charl Schwartzel and Spain's Jon Rahm who both shot 64 on Sunday. Andy Ogletree (65 on Sunday), Chile's Joaquin Niemann (66) and South Africa's Dean Burmester (67) also shared third place.
“I was telling myself that I knew there was going to be hard moments today regardless of the result, and that I just needed to get back in there and start playing with freedom again,” Steele said. “And, I was able to hit some good shots after that and write the show.”
Steele shared the credit with HyFlyers captain Phil Mickelson, who finished in a tie for 38th at 7 under.
“He's the reason that I'm here and the reason that I'm improving,” Steele said. “To be honest, I'm 41 years old and I'm getting better, and it's mostly because of him.”
To the delight of the record crowds Down Under, the Australian team Ripper GC captured the team championship on the second playoff hole against Stingers GC. Both teams finished regulation at 53 under – a record low for any LIV Golf event.
“This is unreal,” Ripper captain Cameron Smith said while standing on the 18th green holding an Australian flag, surrounded by teammates Marc Leishman, Matt Jones and Lucas Herbert. “It's a dream come true for us.”
Steele climbed to 13th in the seasonlong individual championship race. Niemann remains atop the standings.
LIV returns to action next week with the May 3-5 Singapore event at Sentosa Golf Club, where Talor Gooch is the defending individual champion.