McIlroy revels in 'awesome' 25th PGA Tour title alongside Lowry

By Sports Desk April 29, 2024

Rory McIlroy said his 25th PGA Tour title was made all the more special by the fact it came alongside Shane Lowry after the Irish duo won the Zurich Classic of New Orleans in a play-off on Sunday.

Chad Ramey and Martin Trainer were among the early starters in Avondale and set a target of 25 under by carding a nine-under 63 in the fourth round.

It went down to the wire as McIlroy and Lowry birdied the final hole to set up a play-off, which they won by making par after Trainer missed his par putt.

The victory took McIlroy to a quarter of a century on the PGA Tour, and he said lifting the trophy alongside a close friend made it one of his most memorable.   

The world number two said: "To win any PGA Tour event is very cool, but to do it with one of your closest friends… 

"Think about where we met and where we've come from, to be on this stage and do this together, it was just awesome to be able to do it alongside this guy."

Former Open champion Lowry, who now has three PGA titles to his name, added: "Rory brings a crowd, and people love him. 

"We've got a lot of love this week in New Orleans, we've had just the best week. We went out there, we had loads of fun, and we won the tournament. You couldn't ask for a better week."

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    Lowry had the opportunity to produce the first '61 round' in a men's major history but missed the hole by mere inches on 18, settling for a record-equalling 62 instead.

    It is just the fifth time a 62 has been carded at a major, with Schauffele doing it for the second time on the first day at Valhalla.

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    And, after a tumultuous week, world number one Scottie Scheffler looks to have slipped out of contention after posting a two-over 73. He is on seven under in a tie for 24th position.

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    "Felt like I've had to work for a lot of my birdies the last two days," he said after round three. 

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    Lowry carded nine birdies and no bogeys on Saturday to set a new career low and jump to 13 under after being eight strokes off the lead at the halfway stage.

    The Irishman had the opportunity to produce the first '61 round' in a men's major history but missed the hole by mere inches, settling for a record-equalling 62 instead.

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