Rory McIlroy marked his first PGA Tour look since Grand Slam glory by making a gradual begin to his title defence with Shane Lowry on the Zurich Traditional of New Orleans.
McIlroy returned to motion to companion Lowry within the 80 two-man crew occasion at TPC Louisiana, two weeks after claiming an elusive fifth main title and maiden victory at The Masters to turn out to be solely the sixth participant to finish the profession Grand Slam.
The four-ball format was used for the opening spherical, the place gamers every play their very own ball and the most effective rating on every gap from the pair goes in direction of the crew complete, with McIlroy and Lowry combining to publish an eight-under 64.
The pair registered an eagle, seven birdies and a bogey throughout their opening spherical, leaving them six strokes again, as Isaiah Salinda and Kevin Velo set a brand new event file and grabbed the early lead with a exceptional 14-under 58.
Salinda and Velo produced a birdie or higher between them on every of the primary 11 holes earlier than including additional birdies on the thirteenth and fifteenth, giving them a one-shot benefit over Nicolai Hojgaard and Rasmus Hojgaard.
The Hojgaard twins birdied every of the final six holes of their 13-under 59, whereas European pair Kris Ventura and Antoine Rozner have been among the many teams to publish an 11-under 61 on the opening day.
Groups in afternoon motion included Matt Fitzpatrick alongside his brother Alex and two-time main winner Collin Morikawa partnering Kurt Kitayama, earlier than the foursomes format is used for the second spherical on Friday.
How McIlroy and Lowry ‘left photographs on the market’
Lowry chipped in from off the tenth inexperienced and holed from 5 toes to open with successive birdies, earlier than rolling in from eight toes so as to add one other on the par-four thirteenth as McIlroy began slowly.
McIlroy discovered water together with his strategy into the par-five 18th, the place Lowry nearly holed his eagle chip and tapped in for birdie to see them flip in 32, earlier than posting his first birdie of the day by holing a 20-footer on the par-four first.
The world No 2’s sensible strategy into the par-five subsequent was rewarded with a 10-foot eagle, earlier than Lowry’s 25-foot birdie on the par-four fourth lifted the defending champions to eight below.
McIlroy missed an eight-foot birdie probability on the fifth and joined Lowry find water off the sixth tee, resulting in the pair scrambling a bogey, however posted a two-putt birdie on the par-five seventh and closed their spherical with two pars.
Rory McIlroy is already a three-time winner on the PGA Tour in 2025
“Shane got off to a really good start,” McIlroy mentioned. “I didn’t do anything. Shane joked I could have got a couple extra hours in bed if I wanted to. But yeah, I played a bit better coming in.
“It was okay. We felt like we left a couple of photographs on the market, however we have been simply saying the 2 foursomes days are the vital days on this event, and it is vital for us to clearly publish an excellent rating tomorrow.”
Watch the Zurich Classic of New Orleans throughout the week live on Sky Sports. Early coverage continues Friday from 1.45pm on Sky Sports Golf ahead of full coverage from 8pm, with extra action on Sky Sports +. Get Sky Sports activities or stream with NOW.
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