Shane Lowry and Rory McIlroy came out on top in The Zurich Classic of New Orleans last night as they won a playoff.
The European duo ensured Irish eyes smiled down on them in the USA as they won at their first attempt of being a pairing in the competition.
Just like in the third round, McIlroy and Lowry came in clutch in their final round as Lowry holed a birdie putt on the last after being put in place by a remarkable shot from McIlroy from off the green.
For McIlroy, it will be a welcome boost to what has been a poor start to life on the PGA Tour this season.
Lowry, meanwhile, will have been delighted to get the win after getting McIlroy to join him in New Orleans.
However, speaking after the win, Lowry admitted that there’s still something bothering him about his game at the moment.
Shane Lowry still annoyed by one aspect of his golf game despite Zurich win
Speaking to the PGA Tour’s official media channels after the win, Irishman Lowry admitted that his putting is something he needs to keep working on as he paid tribute to McIlroy for helping him out.
“I have gone through a little bit over the last few tournaments where I have struggled on the greens a bit. I changed my putter this week, feels really good, but I am not trusting it as well as I would like. I missed a couple of short putts which gets me down a bit, but Rory was there to back me up and he was a great teammate and made me believe in myself,” Lowry said.
Both McIlroy and Lowry missed a few big putts that if they’d dropped, would have prevented the nervy playoff anyway.
But in the end, their class and experience showed as their opponents found the going tough on the 18th and simply came up short.
For Lowry, it will act as a morale-boosting win and while he admits there’s work to do in his game, there’s a lot to be happy about as well.
Lowry’s time will come again and this, many will hope, is the kickstart he needs.
Receive exclusive golf news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
