RELATED: Rory McIlroy details whirlwind since winning the Masters

But it was Andrew Novak and Ben Griffin who took the title and with it, both collected their first PGA Tour wins. Novak lost in a playoff to Justin Thomas just last week at the RBC Heritage. He and Griffin took home $1.3294 million each from an overall $9.2 million purse. They’re also now both in the PGA Championship next month at Quail Hollow in North Carolina. Twin brothers Nicolai and Rasmus Hojgaard were in second place, one shot back. McIlroy and Lowry tied for 12th place.

The week started with 160 players—80 two-man teams—at TPC Louisiana in Avondale. The PGA Tour used its priority rankings to fill the field, then players who committed were allowed to select their partner as long as that partner has some sort of PGA Tour status. Teams played four-ball format in the first and third rounds and foursomes (alternate shot) in the second and final rounds. Thirty-six teams qualified for the weekend.

Here is the rundown of what each player earned who made the cut. (Reminder: each player will earn the respective amount below.)

WIN: Andrew Novak-Ben Griffin, -28/260, $1.3294 million

2: Rasmus Hojgaard-Nicolai Hojgaard, -27/261, $542,800

3: Jake Knapp-Frankie Capan III, -26/262, $355,350

T-4: David Lipsky-Dylan Wu, -25/263, $242,075

T-4: Taylor Dickson-Trace Crowe, -25/263, $242,075

T-4: Karl Vilips-Michael Thorbjornsen, -25/263, $242,075

T-4: Luke List-Henrik Norlander, -25/263, $242,075

T-8: Chad Ramey-Justin Lower, -24/264, $154,100

T-8: Isaiah Salinda-Kevin Velo, -24/264, $154,100

T-10: Jacob Bridgeman-Chandler Phillips, -23/265, $117,300

T-10: Hayden Buckley-Braden Thornberry, -23/265, $117,300

T-12: Matteo Manassero-Cristobal Del Solar, -22/266, $69,092

T-12: Chris Gotterup-Quade Cummins, -22/266, $69,092

T-12: Nick Taylor-Adam Hadwin, -22/266, $69,092

T-12: Ryan Gerard-Danny Walker, -22/266, $69,092

T-12: Sepp Straka-Brice Garnett, -22/266, $69,092

T-12: Rory McIlroy-Shane Lowry, -22/266, $69,092

T-18: J.T. Poston-Keith Mitchell, -21/267, $38,755

T-18: Ricky Castillo-William Mouw, -21/267, $38,755

T-18: Nate Lashley-Hayden Springer, -21/267, $38,755

T-18: Aaron Rai-Sahith Theegala, -21/267, $38,755

T-18: Trey Mullinax-Robby Shelton, -21/267, $38,755

T-18: Ryo Hisatsune-Takumi Kanaya, -21/267, $38,755

T-24: Steven Fisk-Tim Widing, -20/268, $24,748

T-24: Sam Stevens-Max McGreevy, -20/268, $24,748

T-26: David Skinns-Ben Taylor, -19/269, $21,942

T-26: Vince Whaley-Anders Albertson, -19/269, $21,942

T-28: Paul Peterson-Thomas Rosenmueller, -18/270, $20,700

T-28: Kevin Tway-Bud Cauley, -18/270, $20,700

T-28: Nico Echavarria-Max Greyserman, -18/270, $20,700

31: Kris Ventura-Antoine Rozner, -17/271, $19,964

T-32: Thomas Detry-Robert MacIntyre, -16/272, $19,228

T-32: Davis Riley-Nick Hardy, -16/272, $19,228

T-32: Cam Davis-Adam Svensson, -16/272, $19,228

35: Brandt Snedeker-Chez Reavie, -15/273, $18,492

36: Kevin Chappell-Tom Hoge, -14/274, $18,120

Main Image: Tracy Wilcox

The post Here’s the prize money payout for each golfer at the 2025 Zurich Classic of New Orleans appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

After coming close to victory on the PGA Tour a couple of times apiece, Ben Griffin and Andrew Novak used their collective talents to finally break through, winning a nailbiter Sunday at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.

Griffin executed the key strokes down the stretch as the North Carolina natives outdueled Jake Knapp and Frankie Capan III on the inward nine at TPC Louisiana and had just enough to hold off Danish twins Nicolai and Rasmus Hojgaard to win by a stroke. Griffin’s 35-foot birdie putt on the par-3 17th hole pushed him and Novak out front alone for the first time since they bogeyed the ninth, and then his tap-in for par at the par-5 home hole sealed their shared maiden win with a 28-under 260 total.

RELATED: Rory McIlroy’s delayed eagle completes scoring feast to keep Irish in Zurich hunt

Ranked 56th and 34th in the world, respectively, Griffin and Novak each pocketed $1.329 million and collected 400 FedEx Cup points apiece after a final-round one-under 71 in the foursomes format. Novak, a Raleigh native, registered his fourth top-three finish of the season to move into sixth in the FedEx Cup standings. He’s on a roll but needed his friend from Chapel Hill to seal the win in what was Novak’s 100th tour start.

“I’m really glad I had Ben to guide me through today,” said Novak, 30, who the week prior lost to Justin Thomas in a playoff at the RBC Heritage. “The wheels were coming off. I was having some issues, especially after the weather delay, but he played awesome. We kept it together. That putt on 17 was unbelievable. I’m glad we got it done.”

“I think for both Andrew and I, it felt like it was only a matter of time out here,” said Griffin, 28. “We both put ourselves in the mix a bunch, especially this season, but even going back to last season.”

Griffin and Novak began the day with a three-shot lead, but that was quickly trimmed to one when they bogeyed the opening par-4 hole and the Brothers Hojgaard birdied their first two holes in the modified alternate-shot format. However, birdies at Nos. 2, 5 and 7 restored their lead to three. They faced an 18-foot par putt on the eighth hole when play was suspended at 3:42 p.m. ET due to inclement weather.

The delay was good news for CBS. Technical difficulties resulting from a power outage prevented the network from airing live coverage when it went on the air at 3 p.m. ET. Golf Channel lost its coverage feed at 2:30 p.m., forcing it to switch to the PGA Tour Champions.

RELATED: Here’s the prize money payout for each golfer at the 2025 Zurich Classic of New Orleans

Play resumed at TPC Louisiana at 5:15, and Novak immediately missed the par attempt at the eighth. Soon after, he missed a three-foot par save at the ninth as part of a three-putt effort by him and Griffin to see their lead slip to one stroke. It was completely gone when Knapp and Capan III birdied the 10th thanks to Knapp’s eight-footer.

Paired together, the two teams remained deadlocked until the 183-yard 17th. Having pulled a few shots on previous holes, Capan III tugged his tee shot into the water left of the green before Novak struck a draw that ran through the green but stopped short of the penalty area. Griffin then guided in the downhill putt.

WHAT A TIME TO BIRDIE @BenGriffinGolf and @AndrewNovakGolf take the lead on 17!

CBS pic.twitter.com/AyNl78UbRI

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 27, 2025

In a light moment, he turned to high-five the player walking behind him, who he believed was Novak when instead it was Capan. He then recovered and pointed at his playing partner.

“Fortunately, we had a little bit of the upper hand there, so I knew we had a good opportunity,” Griffin said of the events that unfolded at 17. “Honestly, that putt I was just trying to lag it up there close. I took a line where I thought I could make it and it fell in.”

Capan and Knapp managed to salvage bogey, but the two-shot swing was a killer. They scratched out a par at the last, while the Hojgaards closed with a birdie to snatch second place at 261 after a 68. Capan and Knapp were next with 70 and 262.

“I think it was a common theme for me on a lot of holes today, just kind of putting Jake in a tough spot a little left,” Capan said. “I felt like we were able to get away with it for most of the day, which was great. But then, yeah, obviously at that important moment kind of pulled one left and, obviously, was happy to get out of the hole with a 4. It was a tough finish. It was a great week.”

Griffin and Novak are the fourth and fifth players to win their first tour titles since the Zurich Classic changed to a two-man team format in 2017. Coincidentally, Novak is the first player to lose a playoff and win the following week since Patrick Cantlay turned the same trick in 2022 at the same two tournaments.

“Coming into this week, I knew I was playing well,” Novak said. “Ben has been playing good golf. This is a perfect golf course for us. There was a lot of confidence coming into this week for sure.”

Defending champions Shane Lowry and Masters champion Rory McIlroy birdied the final hole for a 72 and 266 total to end up T-12.

Main Image: Jonathan Bachman

The post Andrew Novak rebounds from playoff loss, teams with Ben Griffin to collect first PGA Tour victories in New Orleans appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Would it be Gautreau’s or Arnaud’s or somewhere else for dinner on the town in New Orleans on Saturday night? With all of the fabulous gastronomical choices for Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry to consider, it kept their minds off of golf during a 90-minute weather delay in the third round of the two-man team Zurich Classic of New Orleans.

It kept McIlroy about thinking of one stroke of his putter, actually. The two Irishman, defending champions of the Zurich, were approaching the 18th green at TPC Louisiana to complete their third round when the horn blew.

RELATED: Here’s the prize money payout for each golfer at the 2025 Zurich Classic of New Orleans

On a day when the team had torched the course for eight birdies and an eagle through 17 holes of fourball, McIlroy had a 30-foot putt for eagle that, if he made it, would give them a hard-charging 61 and a legitimate chance for a title repeat.

But that’s the last thing they wanted to consider while they ate lunch and watched a replay from their victory from a year ago.

“The last thing on my mind during the delay was the putt, and then once I got back out there, I sort of concentrated on it and made sure I did what I needed to do, and just a bonus for it to go in.”

https://twitter.com/PGATOUR/status/1916236438854660388

With the eagle and 61, McIlroy and Lowry moved to 22 under for the week as the field headed to alternate-shot play on Sunday. Andrew Novak and Ben Griffin, each seeking their first PGA Tour title, are the leaders at 27 under after shooting 61 on Saturday. Jake Knapp and Frankie Capan III had the day’s best scorecard with 60, and they were tied in second at 24 under with the Japanese duo of Ryo Hisatsune and Takumi Kanaya (61).

The Irishmen, appearing for the defence of the Zurich despite McIlroy nursing a cold after his extensive post-Masters celebration, started the tournament with a 64 in fourball, but struggled a bit on Friday with a 69 in alternate shot that put them four back of Novak and Griffin, who opened 62-66. On Saturday, they mostly balanced the work, with McIlroy making the eagle and five birdies, while Lowry also made an eagle to go with three birdies. They did give up a stroke on the par-3 17th when both missed the green and could make 10- and 12-foot par putts.

“I feel like we played pretty well today, I think,” Lowry said. “There was a lot of holes where both of us had chances. We went out and we did what we had to do.

“Look, we knew we were going to have to go out and shoot a really low score today. There’s not much wind out there, and the course is fairly gettable, and in fourballs you want to be shooting at least 10 under. I was pretty happy to have Rory go out and eagle the last there. It makes dinner taste nicer and kind of puts us in a great position going into tomorrow.”

As for the evening’s meal, they’d already dined this week at Gautreau’s and Arnaud’s, places they ate at last year. No word on what they decided for Saturday evening, but in New Orleans, it was going to be hard for them to go wrong on or off the golf course.

Main Image: Chris Graythen

The post Rory McIlroy’s delayed eagle completes scoring feast to keep Irish in Zurich hunt appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Rory McIlroy is at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, playing for the first time since his historic Masters victory two weeks ago, capturing the final leg of the career Grand Slam. It was his third victory this year on the PGA Tour.

McIlroy’s year has been so crazy, however, that he nearly (almost!) forgot that he won the Players Championship. That playoff victory over J.J. Spaun came just five weeks ago.

He didn’t really forget, of course, but let’s just say, was pleased to be reminded, as he was Thursday on the first tee before the first round in New Orleans, where he’s the defending champion with teammate Shane Lowry. The two topped Chad Ramey and Martin Tainer when they made par on the first hole off a playoff last year at TPC Louisiana.

RELATED: McIlroy details whirlwind week after Masters victory

“Yeah, I was glad they remembered the Players, as well, in there,” McIlroy said. “It seems like a distant memory at this point. Look, very nice. I could get used to it.”

There was expected rust for McIlroy to start the first round, which is four-ball format. Starting on the 10th hole, he played his first nine holes in one over par. Lowry was four under during the same stretch to save the team’s score. McIlroy then played better, making birdie on the first hole, his 10th of the day, then made eagle on the next getting up and down from 206 yards out.

https://twitter.com/PGATOURLIVE/status/1915390702256529680

McIlroy and Lowry shot 32-32 for an eight-under 64. Isaiah Salinda and Kevin Velo lead after shooting a tournament-record 58 to open. The second and final rounds will be alternate-shot format. The third round, like the first, will be four-ball.

“Shane got off to a really good start. 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,” McIlroy said.

“We felt like we left a few shots out there, but we were just saying the two foursomes days on Friday and Sunday here are the important days in this tournament, and it’s important for us to obviously post a good score tomorrow.”

RELATED: Here’s the prize money payout for each golfer at the 2025 Zurich Classic of New Orleans

McIlroy said he didn’t feel any nerves on the first tee, playing for the first time since earning his green jacket, but rather felt more relaxed knowing there was a partner, and longtime friend, playing next to him. He did, however, notice that there was a decent gallery following along, considering they teed off early on a Thursday.

“We had a great time playing in front of them last year,” he said. “It was a great atmosphere, especially at the weekend. So yeah, it’s always nice to play in front of a supportive, enthusiastic crowd, and looking forward to doing more of that over the next few days.”

Main Image: Jonathan Bachman

The post Rory McIlroy was glad this distinction was added to his first tee intro in New Orleans appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

At TPC Louisiana, however, there were some bigger names in the field than usual, with five of the top 15 players in the world in action. Two of those bigger names—Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry—ultimately won, defeating Martin Trainer and Chad Ramey on the first hole of a playoff. The Irishmen shot a final-round 68 in the Sunday alternate-shot format to end at 25-under-par total. They each took home $1.286 million from the overall purse of $8.9 million.

“Feel like it’s just a bonus to win at the end,” said McIlroy.

“Rory carried me a lot of the way,” Lowry confided.

McIlroy made his tournament debut count and after the victory, Lowry was already lobbying his mate to return in 2025 to defend their title.

Here is the prize money rundown for each team who made the cut. (Reminder: these figures below are what each player will earn individually)

WIN: Rory McIlroy-Shane Lowry, -25/264, $1.286 million

2: Chad Ramey-Martin Trainer, -25/263, $525,100

3: Ryan Brehm-Mark Hubbard, -24/264, $343,762.50

T-4: Garrick Higgo-Ryan Fox, -23/265, $234,181.25

T-4: Sam Stevens-Paul Barjon, -23/265, $234,181.25

T-4: Zac Blair-Patrick Fishburn, -23/265, $234,181.25

T-4: Nico Echavarria-Max Greyserman, -23/265, $234,181.25

T-8: Greyson Sigg-Chesson Hadley, -22/266, $149,075

T-8: Thomas Detry-Robert MacIntyre, -22/266, $149,075

10: Nick Taylor-Adam Hadwin, -21/267, $122,375

T-11: Kelly Kraft-Kevin Tway, -20/268, $69,069

T-11: Austin Eckroat-Chris Gotterup, -20/268, $69,069

T-11: K.H. Lee-Michael Kim, -20/268, $69,069

T-11: Matt Fitzpatrick-Alex Fitzpatrick, -20/268, $69,069

T-11: Charley Hoffman-Nick Watney, -20/268, $69,069

T-11: Corey Conners-Taylor Pendrith, -20/268, $69,069

T-11: Callum Tarren-David Skinns, -20/268, $69,069

T-11: Bryce Garnett-Sepp Straka, -20/268, $69,069

T-19: Luke List-Henrik Norlander, -19/269, $37,380

T-19: Chandler Phillips-Jacob Bridgeman, -19/269, $37,375

T-19: Peter Malnati-Russell Knox, -19/269, $37,375

T-19: Zach Johnson-Ryan Palmer, -19/269, $37,375

T-23: Collin Morikawa-Kurt Kitayama, -18/270, $23,763

T-23: Mac Meissner-Austin Smotherman, -18/270, $23,763

T-23: Patrick Cantlay-Xander Schauffele, -18/270, $23,763

T-23: Davis Thompson-Andrew Novak, -18/270, $23,763

T-23: Aaron Rai-David Lipsky, -18/270, $23,763

T-28: Nick Hardy-Davis Riley, -17/271, $19,135

T-28: Brandon Wu-James Nicholas, -17/271, $19,135

T-28: Doug Ghim-Chan Kim, -17/271, $19,135

T-28: Kevin Yu-C.T. Pan, -17/271, $19,135

T-28: Dylan Wu-Justin Lower, -17/271, $19,135

T-28: Ben Kholes-Patton Kizzire, -17/271, $19,135

T-28: Harry Hall-Scott Piercy, -17/271, $19,135

T-28: Keith Mitchell-Joel Dahmen, -17/271, $19,135

36: Matt Wallace-Thorbjorn Olesen, -16/272, $17,533

37: Ben Taylor-Sean O’Hair, -15/273, $17,177

38: Nate Lashley-Rafael Campos, -14/274, $16,821

39: Vincent Norrman-Jorge Campillo, -13/275, $16,465

40: Chez Reavie-Brandt Snedeker, -9/279, $16,109

Image: Tracy Wilcox

The post Here’s the prize money payout for each golfer at the 2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

So they showed up as overwhelming favourites to win at TPC Louisiana. There were times when it didn’t look like they were going to be victorious. But they birdied two of the last three holes Sunday in the alternate-shot format to shoot 68, sneak into a playoff, and then made par on the first extra hole when their opponents Chad Ramey and Martin Trainer butchered a couple of shots.

Most everyone in the Big Easy was pleased, aside from Ramey and Trainer, of course. Lowry and McIlroy celebrated, as only Irishmen can, and both were thrilled that what they discussed some six months ago had come to fruition. Both also felt they were in desperate need of a victory heading into a busy summer.

After the victory, however, proof that the party took a dramatic turn showed up on Twitter. About an hour later.

Video of … drumroll please … RORY MCILROY SINGING KARAOKE. And it was to Journey’s ‘Don’t Stop Believin’.’ In front of hundreds of adoring fans. At the top of his lungs. It was glorious.

https://twitter.com/PGATOUR/status/1784737800547381498

This is not a drill. Rory McIlroy singing Don't Stop Believing pic.twitter.com/y5PkEDoqo4

— Brody Miller (@BrodyAMiller) April 28, 2024

Gotta hand it to Rors. He didn’t mail it in. Once he committed he went the first two verses and the chorus before dropping the mic to thunderous applause and exiting stage right. Good stuff.

More of this please.

Image: PGA Tour / X (Twitter)

The post Watch: Rory McIlroy sings ‘Don’t Stop Believin’ at the top of his lungs in front of hundreds of adoring fans appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The proceedings were exciting and the finish dramatic. One of its central characters was the most popular player in the sport. There were multiple stumbles in critical moments—including on the last stroke of the day—and though we don’t need reminders that golf is democratic in its cruelty, those falters are noteworthy because pressure only exists when what’s on the line matters.

When Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry were the two left standing, the immediate takeaway was the golf this week was quite good.

And it’s worth asking if this is as good as this tournament is going to get.

McIlroy and Lowry defeated Trainer and Chad Ramey in a playoff at TPC Louisiana to capture the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.

“Look, it’s disappointing for the lads to finish the way they did,” Lowry said, after the five he and McIlroy carded beat Trainer and Ramey’s six on the first hole of sudden death. “But we’ve had just the best week. Anytime this man wants to partner with me, I’ll be happy to do so.”

Let’s start with the present, which is McIlroy and Lowry, although to understand how they got here we must go to the past. Over a post-Ryder Cup victory lunch, McIlroy and Lowry decided to join forces for the tour’s lone regular-season team event. The two quickly put the Hemingway adage with an opening 61. They survived Friday’s foursomes with a 70 and came back with a best-ball 64 to earn a spot in the penultimate pairing behind Zac Blair and Patrick Fishburn and Luke List and Henrik Norlander.

It was another pair in Trainer and Ramey that stole the Sunday spotlight, putting together a nine-under 63 in alternate shot to take the clubhouse lead at 25 under with hours to go until the final groups finished. It was a lead they admitted they didn’t think would stand, but the damnedest thing happened, as all those teams in the final pairings continued to stall out as the wind came up. List and Norlander made the turn in two over and things did not improve on the back.

Ryan Brehm had a fantastic ball-striking display but partner Mark Hubbard missed a handful of makeable birdie putts and they couldn’t make four on the par five 18th to earn a spot into the playoff. Blair and Fishburn had a share of the lead until the par three 17th. Blair aired his tee shot to the right, Fisburn flubbed a chip, Blair missed the 25-foot save and Fishburn missed the comebacker. McIlroy and Lowry needed a birdie at the final hole just for the chance at extra holes, which they did thanks to a nifty third from McIlroy and a pure stroke from Lowry.

The winning moment for @McIlroyRory and @ShaneLowryGolf pic.twitter.com/IHQLJrYnP9

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 28, 2024

Though McIlroy and Lowry were fan favourites it wasn’t hard to be sympathetic for Ramey and Trainer, especially since Trainer doesn’t have his tour card and a win would mean two years of job security. Alas, Trainer chunked his third, and when Lowry missed a 10-footer to reopen the door, Trainer’s attempt to tie from seven feet never came close. A nine-under 63 in foursomes is brilliant in itself, to say nothing of Sunday’s tough conditions, but the life-altering opportunity for Trainer was not to be.

“Just playing it like a normal hole. Doing the best we can,” Trainer said about the final hole. “Obviously golf is hard, and sometimes it doesn’t go your way. We did the best we could and had a chance, and that’s all you can ask for really.”

Remarkably it’s Lowry’s first PGA Tour win since his Open triumph at Royal Portrush in 2019, and his seventh career professional victory. As for McIlroy, Sunday marked his 25th trophy on the PGA Tour, tying him with Johnny Miller, Tommy Armour and Macdonald Smith for 23rd on the tour’s all-time wins list.

“Yeah, absolutely amazing,” McIlroy said. “I think, yeah, to win any PGA Tour event is very cool, but to do it with one of your closest friends, we’ve known each other for a long, long time, probably like over 20 years, so to think about where we met and where we’ve come from, to be on this stage and do this together, really, really cool journey that we’ve been a part of, and yeah, just awesome to be able to do it alongside this guy.”

No world ranking points are attached to the Zurich Classic, yet with both men well outside the top 30 in the FedEx Cup following so-so starts to the 2024 campaign, their conquest puts them on the right side of the Tour Championship benchmark heading into the second half of the season. Their win was the best-case scenario for the tournament, both its officials and its fans. They were the marquee attraction in a field short of star power and with their Irish backgrounds one of the few pairings that had a built-in storyline that was easy to root for. Conversely, what we witnessed on Sunday was the Platonic ideal of a tour team event, and that it happened only proved that what is promised is rarely delivered.

Since moving to this structure in 2017, the Zurich’s had notable winners in Jon Rahm, Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele, and Cam Smith before he was an Open and Players champ. In that same breath, this year’s lack of recognizable names wasn’t an aberration, and the field—with 80 two-man teams—often features players with limited or no status to fill those spots. This year, one of those players was 65-year-old Russ Cochran, who had not played a PGA Tour event in 11 seasons. Tournaments sandwiched between the Masters and PGA Championship often struggle to attract viable fields, and that truth has only become harder with the RBC Heritage and Wells Fargo Championship earning signature event designation. The upshot is most of the pairings seem random, with no narrative or fan hook.

Moreover, that TPC Louisiana is not exactly one of the crown jewels of the tour’s rota doesn’t help the tournament’s plight. Nor does lacklustre crowds. The Zurich did have scheduling rivals in the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, and the New Orleans Pelicans hosted an NBA Playoff game on Saturday afternoon. The golf fans that were on the grounds consolidated around McIlroy and Lowry leaving the rest of the course relatively open.

"It's a little bit snug." pic.twitter.com/4g7sdJLPHw

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 29, 2024

One of the tour’s biggest issues is that the golf mostly looks exactly the same as the golf played the week before, so on that front, kudos for the tour and tournament officials for attempting to inject creativity. That should not be conflated with success. As the PGA Tour continues to re-evaluate its business in the wake of its new equity investment and potential partnership with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, perhaps it’s time for the Zurich’s format to be altered again. It’s no coincidence that, of the many struggles LIV Golf has had in gaining traction with the general public, its team component is chief among them. And the beauty of what’s seen at the Ryder Cup is not just the team component but the level of care it conjures, a care that cannot be replicated. The tour knows this, considering its own problems with garnering fanfare for its Presidents Cup.

As for how to improve the Zurich product, this part of the calendar seems ripe for the now-defunct Match Play to be resurrected, allowing for the equidistant time between the green jacket and Wanamaker. With continued calls for a mixed tournament between PGA and LPGA stars, this would also be a good juncture rather than resigning it to the silly season. Even though innovativeness wasn’t the answer with the current format, it’s still the undercurrent the tour needs to ride to get to the New Orleans stop where it needs to go.

In golf, two of the most powerful warriors are often patience and time. That was on display Sunday, as McIlroy and Lowry didn’t necessarily make a charge as much as they outlasted their competitors. Perhaps that’s what the Zurich needs, patience and time, more runway to let its team format grow. Yet to continue to give the Zurich both in hopes it will produce more finishes like Sunday could mean waiting for a day that never returns.

Image: Chris Graythen

The post Rory McIlroy & Shane Lowry’s win might be as good as the Zurich Classic ever gets appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

“I remember Rory talked about—the Wednesday after Ryder Cup we had a nice few drinks together,” Lowry said of the partnership that has the second-best odds to win this week behind only the team of Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay. “We talked about it that day, and then he sent me a text around Christmas time, and it was a nice little Christmas present for me to get. Yeah, happy to be here with him.”

Lowry added that he waited for McIlroy to bring it up first. Smart move. Because, apparently, others have been unsuccessfully asking Rory for years since the PGA Tour’s annual stop in New Orleans became a team event in 2017. Including one fellow major champ in particular. Check out this exchange.

Q. Rory, just curious, had you been close to coming here before or playing in this tournament before?

RORY McILROY: Yeah, a few people have asked me over the years. Bubba Watson hounded me for years to come play this with him and I politely declined every time, not because I don’t like —

SHANE LOWRY: Rory is probably like No. 1 on people’s lists to come play here with. When you’re out there playing with him, he’s —

RORY McILROY: But no, it was never part of — I guess it never lined up with my schedule and just wasn’t — this is my fourth week in a row, and it’s not as if I haven’t played four weeks in a row before, but for a fourth tournament in a row, something like this that is a little more relaxed, not as much pressure, I thought it would be a good thing to do.

Poor Bubba. And poor golf fans. Imagine two of the greatest drivers of the golf ball in history partnering up? That would have been a fun team to watch.

Like McIlroy points out, it was nothing against Watson, just more it didn’t work out with his schedule. Although this year, McIlroy is finally playing in the tournament despite it being his fourth week of playing in a row.

“Why am I excited that he picked me? He obviously thinks I’m good enough to be a teammate and come out here and compete with,” Lowry said.

Nicely done, Shane. Sometimes you just have to play it cool.

Image: Christian Petersen

The post Rory McIlroy reveals major champ who unsuccessfully ‘hounded’ him for years about playing Zurich Classic together appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Unfortunately, for Kevin Kisner and Scott Brown, there was a little too much “sorry partner” on the par-3 ninth hole on Sunday at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. The duo was one under for the day in their final round at TPC Louisiana, tied for 26th at 16-under for the tournament, when they got to the tee box on the 183-yard hole, with water left and front of the green.

Brown began with a towering tee shot that moved just a little too much right to left. It hit land but bounced in the water forcing the pair to take a drop.

“Sorry partner.”

Kisner played next, hitting the team’s third from 92 feet away. Sadly, his ball got too much air, hit the front bank and also bounced into the penalty area.

“Uh, sorry partner.”

Now playing their fifth shot, Brown proceeded to … well … there’s no real polite way to say other than he chunked the chip and hit it again in the penalty area.

“Uh … uh … sorry partner.”

Finally, Kisner hit the green with the team’s seventh shot, leaving Brown with a 12-footer. To Brown’s credit, he put all the trouble in the past and rolled the ball into the centre of the hole.

But the damage was done: a quintuple-bogey 8. It’s all right here to see:

An 8 on the par 3 9th

Golf is hard. pic.twitter.com/oTJdyiUht2

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 24, 2022

While the duo made two birdies on their back nine, they finished the day with a two-over 74 and in 35th spot.

The post Watch: How not to play foursome golf, via Kisner and Brown at the Zurich Classic appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

When Burns tugged his drive into said water, it created another decision of sorts: Where exactly did the ball cross into the penalty area?

A discussion ensued between Horschel, Burns, Jason Day (who was playing with Jason Scrivener in the same pairing) and an on-site rules official. Horschel believed that the ball hit the bank before bounding left into the water, which TV replay confirmed. The question, though, was whether the ball hit outside the red line marking the penalty area, in which case Burns and Horschel could take their drop beside the green, roughly 30 feet from the hole? Or did it land inside the red line, in which case Burns and Horschel would have to take a drop farther back toward the fairway, at least 50 yards from the green?

The PGA Tour posted a video of the discussion on Twitter.

As you can hear, Horschel did not see precisely where the ball landed but felt that the ball likely hit outside the red line because he believed that he would not otherwise have been able to see the ball bounce from the tee box given the elevation difference from the teeing area. Day said he didn’t see the ball splash but didn’t pay attention to where the ball crossed.

Unfortunately, the angle of the TV replay did not show specifically where the ball landed, either. Because of that, in consultation with head rules official Gary Young, it was determined that given the information Horschel and Burns had and using their reasonable judgement, they could drop beside the green as if the ball did bounce outside the red line.

From there, Horschel played his third shot to two feet of the hole and Burns rolled in the par putt.

Still within two shots of the leaders, Horschel had the tee on the par-3 17th but proceeded to overcook it. He and Burns wound up making bogey on the hole to fall three shots back, essentially ending their bid at victory.

After the round, Horschel and Burns, who finished the day with a four-under 68, talked more about what happened.

Billy Horschel and Sam Burns discuss a drop after their tee shot finds the water on No. 16. pic.twitter.com/4kYXbSscdv

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 24, 2022

“So, from where we were, Sam pulled his drive a little bit and it was coming back,” Horschel said. “Conversation was did it land above the red line? Well, I saw a ball land and bounce. From the tee box and everything, you really can’t see the red line.”

“The ball was six inches into the water,” Burns interjected. “If it lands close to the edge, it’s going to kick pretty hard in, but if it lands higher up it’s going to kind of …”

Horschel then continued: “It’s going to take a couple bounces. From what I saw and not being able to see the red line and where the red line was, I couldn’t see below that from the tee box when I got up there, so I figured that ball had to land up on top of the red line. We asked TV and everything, and TV didn’t have clear-cut evidence. Travis, [Burns’] caddie, saw the ball bounce.

“I’m one to play it safe, but I was pretty confident that ball landed above the red line.”

More
Greg Norman rejected by R&A for Open Championship
Morikawa can’t stop dunking from off the green
DP World Tour heads back to where it all began 50 years ago
Is Ash Barty aiming for a shot at a golf career?
Our 11 favourite teams at Zurich Classic
Report: First PGA Tour player request to play LIV Golf events
LIV Golf ready to go live as tickets go on sale
WATCH: Dylan Frittelli in bizarre rules gaffe

The post Billy Horschel, Sam Burns break down 16th hole penalty drop at TPC Louisiana appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.