This week, Shane Lowry and Brooks Koepka are teaming up to compete in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, a team event held at TPC Louisiana. They will be part of a field consisting of 80 teams, all vying for the championship title. The defending champions, Ben Griffin and Andrew Novak, are also returning after their victory in 2025, where they beat Nicolai and Rasmus Højgaard by a single stroke.
In previous years, Rory McIlroy and Lowry have partnered together in the competition, with their most notable achievement being their championship win in 2024. They defeated Martin Trainer and Chad Ramey in a playoff, and their celebration, which included a rendition of 'Don't Stop Believin'' by Journey, left fans in stitches. The decision for McIlroy and Lowry to team up initially came about after a 'drunken lunch' following Team Europe's victory in the Ryder Cup in 2023.
McIlroy recounted the moment, saying, 'I asked him to play, and we decided to do it.' While McIlroy is currently taking a break from golf after his back-to-back Green Jacket wins at The Masters, Lowry has partnered with Brooks Koepka, a five-time major winner who recently returned to the PGA Tour after spending four years with LIV Golf. Their partnership is unique, given their past as opponents in the Ryder Cup, but they have a strong friendship and reside near each other in Florida. Combined, they boast six major titles and extensive experience on the big stage.
Lowry won The Open in 2019 and has been part of two Ryder Cup-winning teams, while Koepka's trophy cabinet includes five majors, comprising two US Opens and three PGA Championships. Koepka and Lowry are among the favorites to win this week, but they face stiff competition from a talented field. Matt Fitzpatrick, fresh from his second PGA Tour victory of the season, will team up with his brother Alex Fitzpatrick.
The Fitzpatrick brothers have had a memorable few months, with Matt climbing to No. 3 in the Official World Golf Rankings and Alex winning his maiden DP World Tour title at the Hero Indian Open in March. Marco Penge, a PGA Tour rookie, will make his debut at the tournament alongside Matt Wallace, while Aaron Rai returns to action alongside Sahith Theegala, who has achieved four top-10 finishes so far this year on the PGA Tour. The Zurich Classic is the only team event on the PGA Tour calendar, featuring a four-ball format in the first and third rounds, where each golfer plays their own ball, and the lowest score on each hole counts.
The second and final rounds adopt a foursomes format, with players alternating shots using one ball, and the total strokes taken resulting in the team's score for each hole. After the first two rounds, the top 33 teams and ties will progress to the weekend. Last year's cut line was set at -10, with notable players like Collin Morikawa and Kurt Kitayama missing out on a spot at the weekend.
In the event of a draw after 72 holes, a sudden-death playoff will determine the winning team. With the prize purse increased to $9.5m, the winners will share 14.45 percent of the purse, expected to be around $1.372m.
The winning team will also receive 400 FedExCup points each and gain entry to significant tournaments in the 2027 season, including The Players Championship and The PGA Championship. Sky Sports will provide live coverage of all four tournament days, starting with early round coverage at 1 pm on Sky Sports Golf, followed by full coverage from 8 pm on Thursday. The action from the second round will begin at 1:45 pm on Friday, with full coverage starting at 8 pm on Sky Sports Golf.
Weekend coverage will commence at 2 pm on Saturday and Sunday, with full coverage starting at 6 pm on both days. The first women's major of the year, The Chevron Classic, will also take place on Thursday, live on Sky Sports Main Event. Who will emerge victorious at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans?
Watch the tournament live on Sky Sports throughout the week.