What Rory McIlroy said when asked if he carried the nerves from the 2025 Masters to the Zurich Classic

Rory McIlroy's 2025 Masters victory is still the talk of the golf world. McIlroy, 35, played some phenomenal golf over the course of four rounds and earned his first-ever green jacket. This victory also meant that McIlroy joined an elite club of professional golfers who have won a career grand slam.

Hence, heading into the 2025 Zurich Classic, all eyes were on McIlroy. On Thursday, when he completed playing Round 1 of the Zurich Classic, he was asked if he felt the nerves like he did at the Masters, or did it feel different. Rory McIlroy answered (via ASAP Sport):

"No, not really. It's just playing golf. If anything, a little more relaxed knowing that I have a partner that if I do hit a bad shot that more times than not can bail me out."

At the 2025 Zurich Classic, Rory McIlroy has teamed up with his close friend Shane Lowry in a bid to defend their titles. The duo had a steady start to Round 1 as they began with a score of 8-under 64. However, there were teams that performed a lot better than them on Thursday.

After Round 1 at the Zurich Classic ended, it was Isaiah Salinda & Kevin Velo who had the lead with a score of 14-under. They were then closely followed by Nicolai Hojgaard & Rasmus Hojgaard who were placed second with a score of 13-under.

Who will Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry be paired with in Round 2 of the 2025 Zurich Classic?

In Round 2 of the 2025 Zurich Classic, Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry will be paired with Kevin Chappell and Tom Hoge. These four golfers will tee off at 1:49 PM ET. Here is a detailed look at the pairings and timings for Round 2 of the 2025 Zurich Classic:

Hole 1:

8:50 a.m. – Lanto Griffin/Cameron Champ, Michael Putnam/Beau Hossler
9:01 a.m. – Martin Laird/Bill Haas, David Lipsky/Dylan Wu
9:12 a.m. – Luke List/Henrik Norlander, Adam Schenk/Tyler Duncan
9:23 a.m. – Nico Echavarria/Max Greyserman, Kevin Yu/Jhonattan Vegas
9:34 a.m. – Si Woo Kim/Sangmoon Bae, Zach Johnson/Ryan Palmer
9:45 a.m. – Camilo Villegas/Luke Donald, Charley Hoffman/Nick Watney
9:56 a.m. – Joe Highsmith/Alejandro Tosti, Matt Wallace/Thorbjorn Olesen
10:07 a.m. – Nate Lashley/Hayden Springer, Vince Whaley/Andres Albertson
10:18 a.m. – Hayden Buckley/Braden Thornberry, Jesper Svensson/Vincent Norgaard
10:29 a.m. – Pierceson Coody/Jackson Suber, Ricky Castillo/William Mouw
1:05 p.m. – Sam Ryder/Rico Hoey, Alex Smalley/Joseph Bramlett
1:16 p.m. – J.T. Poston/Kevin Mitchell, Ryan Gerard/Jimmy Walker
1:27 p.m. – Matthieu Pavon/Victor Perez, Erik van Rooyen/Christiaan Bezuidenhout
1:38 p.m. – Karl Vilips/Michael Thorbjornsen, Rasmus Højgaard/Nicolai Højgaard
1:49 p.m. – Rory McIlroy/Shane Lowry, Kevin Chappell/Tom Hoge
2:00 p.m. – Aaron Rai/Sahith Theegala, Akshay Bhatia/Carson Young
2:11 p.m. – Jake Knapp/Frankie Capan III, Eric Cole/Sam Saunders
2:22 p.m. – Kevin Kisner/Greyson Sigg, Sam Stevens/Max McGreevy
2:33 p.m. – Kevin Roy/Trevor Cone, Paul Peterson/Thomas Rosenmueller
2:44 p.m. – Kris Ventura/Antoine Rozner, Steven Fisk/Tim Widing

Hole 10:

8:50 a.m. – Kevin Tway/Bud Cauley, Doug Ghim/Chan Kim
9:01 a.m. – Jacob Bridgeman/Chandler Phillips, Sami Valimaki/Ben Silverman
9:12 a.m. – Joel Dahmen/Harry Higgs, Andrew Novak/Ben Griffin
9:23 a.m. – Wyndham Clark/Taylor Moore, Collin Morikawa/Kurt Kitayama
9:34 a.m. – Thomas Detry/Robert MacIntyre, Matt Fitzpatrick/Alex Fitzpatrick
9:45 a.m. – Garrick Higgo/Ryan Fox, Nick Taylor/Adam Hadwin
9:56 a.m. – Matt McCarty/Mason Andersen, Chris Gotterup/Quade Cummins
10:07 a.m. – Will Gordon/Matthew Riedel, Mac Meissner/Noah Goodwin
10:18 a.m. – Matt NeSmith/Will Chandler, Jeremy Paul/Yannick Paul
10:29 a.m. – Matteo Manassero/Cristobal Del Solar, Alejandro Del Rey/Angel Ayora
1:05 p.m. – Chesson Hadley/Jonathan Byrd, Zac Blair/Patrick Fishburn
1:16 p.m. – Robert Streb/Troy Merritt, Chad Ramey/Justin Lower
1:27 p.m. – Ryan Brehm/Mark Hubbard, Patton Kizzire/Ben Kohles
1:38 p.m. – Sepp Straka/Brice Garnett, Davis Riley/Nick Hardy
1:49 p.m. – Cam Davis/Adam Svensson, Peter Malnati/Russell Knox
2:00 p.m. – Lee Hodges/Jason Dufner, Brandt Snedeker/Chad Reavie
2:11 p.m. – Troy Mullinax/Rob Shelton, Taylor Montgomery/John Pak
2:22 p.m. – Ryo Hisatsune/Takumi Kanaya, David Skinns/Ben Taylor
2:33 p.m. – Taylor Dickson/Trace Crowe, Rikuya Hoshino/Kaito Onishi
2:44 p.m. – Isaiah Salinda/Kevin Velo, Laurie Canter/Jordan Smith

About the author

Varun is a Golf and WWE journalist for Sportskeeda with over 4 years of work experience in his bag. Currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communication, he worked for many sites, including EssentiallySports, FanSided, Khel Now, Get Football, and a few others.

Varun is a fan of golfer Scottie Scheffler due to the latter’s mindset, and he admires Roman Reigns’ ability to keep moving forward in life regardless of any obstacles. As a purist golf fan, he would love to compete at the Masters if given the opportunity, but is also happy with LIV Golf driving more eyeballs towards the sport. If he could go back in time and be a manager for someone in the WWE, it would have been Big Show.

Varun’s mantra for writing factually correct feature articles is thorough verification. Another key element in his writing is staying updated with both sports through the official websites of pro wrestling and Golf. He has had the privilege of interviewing MMA legend Greg Jackson in his career so far.

Varun likes to spend his free time reading or writing poetry and fiction. He also plans to learn and play golf in his spare time.

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Edited by Varun Anand Bhat