Rory McIlroy reveals asking Shane Lowry to be his Zurich Classic partner during a ‘really drunken lunch’

Rory McIlroy has revealed that he asked Shane Lowry to be his partner at the upcoming Zurich Classic during a drunken lunch at last year's Ryder Cup.

McIlroy is making his debut at this year's Zurich Classic of New Orleans, which will take place from Apr. 25 to 28 at TPC Louisiana in Avondale, Louisiana. He has teamed up with Lowry, who has played the event four times before.

On Monday, March 25, in a brief conversation with Claire Rogers of Golf.com, McIlroy revealed that he was the one who asked Lowry to team up with him at TPC Louisiana. He expressed his excitement for his maiden start at the event next month.

"I asked him," he said. “You know it was actually, we had this really drunken lunch after the Ryder Cup last year, and I said after, ‘You wanna play the Zurich together?’ And we were like, yeah, let’s do it.”

"So I was like, ‘Yeah, if you are looking to play?' And I’ve never played before, so I’m looking forward to it," he added.

While McIlroy is making his maiden appearance at the TPC Lousiana, Lowry has been here four times.

This will be his fourth appearance since the Zurich Classic changed to team format in 2017. He finished T28 with Padraig Harrington in 2018 and missed the cut in 2019.

Two years ago, he paired with Ian Poulter and finished 13th. Now, Harrington plays in the PGA Tour Champions while Poulter has also switched to LIV Golf.

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What's next for Rory McIlroy?

The 24-time PGA Tour winner will next compete at the Valero Texas Open, which will take place from April 4 to 7 at TPC San Antonio in Texas. The event will be played just a week before the Masters, the only major tournament he's yet to win.

If Rory McIlroy wins the green jacket on Apr. 14 at Augusta National, he will become only the sixth golfer to complete the Grand Slam. Tiger Woods was the last professional golfer to achieve this feat.

Following the Masters, the four-time major champion is expected to play in the RBC Heritage, considering it is a signature event. The RBC Heritage takes place from Apr. 18 to 21 at Harbour Town Golf Links in South Carolina. His fourth event in as many weeks will be the Zurich Classic, where he will appear for the first time in his career.

The 34-year-old Northern Irishman has surprisingly not made even a top-10 finish in the PGA Tour 2024 season. He will hope to turn it around and gain some FedEx Cup points. He's 61st in the season's standings.