This week, Shane Lowry and Brooks Koepka are set to join forces at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, a team event held at TPC Louisiana. The duo will be part of a field consisting of 80 teams, all vying for the championship title. Defending champions Ben Griffin and Andrew Novak are also returning, having secured their win in 2025 by a single stroke against Nicolai and Rasmus Højgaard. Previously, Rory McIlroy and Lowry had partnered up for the competition over the past two years, with their European Ryder Cup duo emerging as champions in 2024 after defeating Martin Trainer and Chad Ramey in a play-off.
Their victory celebration, which featured a rendition of Journey's 'Don't Stop Believin'' on stage, left fans in stitches. The initial decision for McIlroy and Lowry to team up was made during a 'drunken lunch' while celebrating Team Europe's victory in Rome in 2023.
McIlroy recounted the moment to GOLF.com, saying, 'I asked him to play, and we were like, 'yeah, let's do it.'' As McIlroy takes a break from the golf course to celebrate his back-to-back Green Jackets win at The Masters, Lowry has partnered with five-time major winner Koepka. Koepka recently returned to the PGA Tour in January after spending four years with LIV Golf. The partnership between Lowry and Koepka is unique, given their past as opponents in the Ryder Cup, but they are close friends and neighbors 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, with two US Opens and three PGA Championships. Koepka and Lowry are among the favorites to win this week but face a tough field. Fresh from his second PGA Tour victory of the season, Matt Fitzpatrick 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 following his victories at the Valspar Championship and the RBC Heritage, where he outlasted world No 1 Scottie Scheffler in a play-off. Alex has also been in excellent form, winning his maiden DP World Tour title at the Hero Indian Open in March. PGA Tour rookie Marco Penge will make his debut at the tournament alongside fellow Englishman Matt Wallace. Aaron Rai returns to action this week, partnering with Sahith Theegala, who has 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 during 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 will use 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 play-off will determine the winning team. This week, there is a lot at stake, with the prize purse for The Zurich Classic increased from $9.2m to $9.5m.
The winning team will share 14.45 percent of the prize, expected to be around $1.372m. The winning team will also receive 400 FedExCup points each, although no OWGR points are available.
The champions will gain entry to major tournaments in the 2027 season, including The Players Championship and The PGA Championship, and will receive an exemption to play at The Zurich Classic for the next two years. 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.
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 on Sky Sports Golf, with full coverage starting at 6 pm on both days.
Alongside The Zurich Classic, the first women's major of the year, The Chevron Classic, will also begin on Thursday, live on Sky Sports Main Event. Who will win the Zurich Classic of New Orleans?
Watch throughout the week live on Sky Sports, with live coverage beginning with Featured Groups on Thursday from 1 pm on Sky Sports Golf, ahead of full coverage from 8 pm.