This time sporting a black team attire, Shane Lowry’s decision following the pink and navy ensemble that Rory McIlroy donned during the opening day, proved to be successful. The pair continued their strong performance in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, as a second round foursome score of 70 and a first round fourballs score of 61 brought them into joint-clubhouse lead, with 13-under-par 131.
While the first day’s fourballs brought an abundance of birdies, the more rigorous alternate shot play meant more patience was required compared to the first day’s unabridged play. In this new two-man team event, McIlroy and Lowry experienced some missed shots, a few birdie putts and an eagle chip even brushing against the hole. However, a sense of accomplishment was prevalent as the duo remained competitive going into the weekend. Another round of fourballs and a closing foursome round on Sunday remain.
The duo started on the 10th, and a sequence of birdie-bogey-birdie starting from the 11th was followed by seven consecutive pars, leading to a bogey at the par three third. A ten-foot putt by Lowry at the fourth kept their round together, while consecutive birdies on the seventh and eighth holes pushed both players back into the main competition.
Lowry acknowledged his nerves on the 13th hole, their fourth, when he said, “I had missed a few around the turn, a short one on 18 and then another on the second. I began to get a little bit into myself, but managed to sink that one, which was a nice feeling. Playing the last few holes the way we did felt really good. It taught me to stay resilient, keep trying and persist. The way we finished today pleased me… I knew we had a couple of additional prospects waiting for us, which we took advantage of, and that was lovely.”
McIlroy also contributed in encouraging Lowry to stay focused on his game despite the missed opportunities. He mentioned, “I took it upon myself to maintain his positivity, and assure him of my complete support in any manner necessary.” As such, McIlroy and Lowry’s duo achieved the same score of 131 as Aaron Rai and David Lipsky. Meanwhile, just a stroke behind with 132 were three pairs – Callum Tarren and David Skinns, Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin, as well as Zach Johnson and Kevin Palmer.