McIlroy, Lowry make 11 birdies for share of Zurich lead

AVONDALE: Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry are enjoying their first taste of the Big Easy. The friends and former Ryder Cup teammates are tied for the lead after one round of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans on Thursday in Avondale, La.

After hitting Bourbon Street for a steak dinner before the tournament, McIlroy and Lowry shot an 11-under 61 in Thursday’s four-ball (best ball) action, racking up 11 birdies without a bogey. It was a stellar showing from the Ulsterman and Irishman, who have five major titles between them, in their Zurich debuts.

“We’re staying downtown. We’ve ventured out a couple of times,” McIlroy said. “Yeah, it’s a cool city, great food scene. I thought the crowds out there today and the support that we got was amazing. Looking forward to more of that over the next three days.”

McIlroy and Lowry ripped off four straight birdies en route to a 6-under 30 on the front nine, then came home in 5-under 31. They’re tied with the teams of Ryan Brehm and Mark Hubbard, Ben Kohles and Patton Kizzire, and David Lipsky and Englishman Aaron Rai. “I definitely felt today I was less hard on myself than I’ve been in the last few weeks when I hit a couple of bad shots,” Lowry said. “It’s nice to know you’ve got Rory McIlroy backing you up.

“But yeah, I definitely feel like there’s a nice vibe out there with the two of us. We know each other’s games so well. We’ve played a lot of golf. We play a lot of golf at home together, and we just know each other so well.”

The other three teams tied for the lead did what McIlroy and Lowry did -- 11 birdies without a bogey. Lowry said starting off strong during four-balls was crucial because of how low everyone could go.

The teams will play foursomes (alternate shot) -- considered the more difficult of the two formats -- on Friday before the 36-hole cut. The field will proceed to play four-balls on Saturday and foursomes on Sunday.

“Looking forward to getting out in foursomes (Friday),” Lowry said. “Should be fun, as well. It’s a format that’s tougher, but it is an enjoyable format.” One stroke off the lead are Davis Thompson and Andrew Novak, Cameron Champ and South Africa’s MJ Daffue, and Belgian Thomas Detry and Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre.

Among the notable teams in a massive tie for eighth at 9-under 63 were Canadians Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin, who finished runner-up last year. Defending champs Nick Hardy and Davis Riley opened with a 6-under 66. Eric Cole and Russ Cochran find themselves tied for 74th following a 3-under 69, but Cole got to enjoy a hole-in-one at the 207-yard, par-3 14th hole.