5 things from Zurich Classic of New Orleans shows four 61s, including Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry (2024)

Shane Lowry talks to his caddie on the ninth green during the first round of the 2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans. (Photo: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports)

Maybe you hoped that the holidays would bring you a new iPhone, a cool pair of sneakers or a new putter. Even if you got something like that, Shane Lowry’s present still has you beat.

Lowry didn’t want to ask Rory McIlroy to be his partner this year because he didn’t think McIlroy would want to play, and he didn’t want to put his close friend in an awkward position. But during a lunch that involved a few drinks after the 2023 Ryder Cup, Rory brought up the idea of playing together in New Orleans.

“I was like, ‘Absolutely,’” Lowry said. “We talked about it that day, and then he sent me a text around Christmas time, and it was a nice little Christmas present for me to get.”

That holiday present helped push Lowry’s (and McIlroy’s) name to the top of the leaderboard after the Irish duo shot a bogey-free, opening-round 61, including 11 birdies.

Rory McIlroy looks on from the ninth green during the first round of the 2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans. (Photo: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports)

“Any day you go out and play the round of golf we did, you’re going to have a good time,” Rory said a few minutes after signing his team’s scorecard. “We enjoyed it. We both played nice golf.”

But off the course, McIlroy is enjoying his first trip to the Big Easy, too.

“I’ve had a wonderful time so far,” he said Thursday. “I’ve only been here really a couple of days, but we’re staying downtown and we’ve ventured out a couple of times. It’s a cool city, a great food scene. I thought the crowds out there today and the support that we got was amazing.”

Steak was on the menu last night at a French restaurant, but with an early tee time Friday, McIlroy and Lowry hinted that it will be a quiet evening Thursday night.

“Hopefully we’ll shoot a good score tomorrow,” McIlroy said, “and we’ll have some great Cajun food tomorrow night.”

A Zurich Classic flagstick in the 9th hole during the first round of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

A 72-hole stroke-play event allows golfers a chance to work their way into a tournament, but the fourball format of the opening round of the Zurich Classic gives every team two balls in play on every hole, which for elite players means two chances to make birdies. Once again, scores reflected that on Thursday.

Coming into this week, the average first-round score in PGA Tour events for a player who finished the week in the top 10 was 67.82. Last season, the field’s scoring average in Thursday’s fourball was 65.56, and the average score among teams that finished in the top 10 was 63.8. The scoring average was 65.29 in ideal scoring conditions Thursday, so any team that shot 68 or higher during Friday’s foursomes has work to do if it wants to contend.

Collin Morikawa reacts on the 17th green after a putt during the first round of the 2024 Zurich Classic at TPC Louisiana. (Photo: Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)

“There’s a lot of grain around the holes and it’s kind of tricky to read in places,” Shane Lowry said on Thursday evening.

TPC Louisiana is at sea level, a mile south of the Mississippi River and a mile north of Lake Cataouatche and the Mississippi Delta. The soil is sandy, and the Bermuda grass has more grain in it than any PGA Tour venue outside the Caribean, which can make chipping and pitching tricky.Several golfers switched to wedges with more loft and more bounce to handle the turf. Insomecases,playerslike Collin Morikawa opted to chip with fairway woods instead of wedges because the wide sole of a fairway wood skims over the grass instead of getting stuck or grabbing in the grainy turf.

Even for the game’s best players,short gameshots around TPC Louisiana are not easy.

Sahith Theegala fist bumps his caddie after a shot on the 13th green during the first round of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. (Photo: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports)

Two weeks ago at the Masters, the leaderboard was filled with household names and stars like Scottie Scheffler, Collin Morikawa, Bryson DeChambeau and Max Homa. Sure, there are some star players at TPC Louisiana, like Rory, Collin, Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele. Still, many of the game’s top players are taking this week off before starting their preparations for May’s PGA Championship.

Many golf fans don’t know Ryan Brehm and his partner, Mark Hubbard, who shot 61 Thursday. They are not familiar with Robert MacIntyre and Thomas Detry, who carded a 62, or Ryan Fox and Garrick Higgo, who finished at 9-under 63, but events like the Zurich Classic should act as a remember that the PGA Tour is loaded with elite players and up-and-coming talent.