Shane Lowry is a part of an unlikely partnership at this week’s Zurich Classic.
The 2019 Open Championship winner is pairing up with five-time major winner Brooks Koepka in the team event in New Orleans.
For the last two years, Lowry has teamed with his good friend Rory McIlroy, winning it in 2024, but the back-to-back Masters winner isn’t playing the event this year, so Lowry had to seek a new partner.
In the build-up to the event, Lowry explained why he chose Koepka as the man to go to battle with at the Zurich.
Koepka returned to the PGA Tour from LIV Golf this year under specific conditions. He made a $5 million charitable donation and accepted that he won’t receive FedEx Cup bonus money or sponsor exemptions for Signature Events in 2026.
Under these conditions, Koepka is playing in nearly every event in which he’s eligible for, which led Lowry to ask him to partner with him at the Zurich.
Speaking to Chantel McCabe on Sirius XM Radio, Lowry explained how the partnership came to fruition: “Well, I’m playing, and obviously, my partner from the last two years told me that he wasn’t going to play. And I’ve known Brooks a while, and I’m friendly with Ricky Elliot, his caddie.
“So I said to Rickie, I kind of knew Brooks was going to have to play because he wasn’t in many of the Signature Events. And I said, ‘Do you think Brooks will play?’
“We’re both Srixon players, it kind of fits a little bit. And he’s obviously a very good player, and I want to go and win.”
With six majors between them, Lowry and Koepka make up the most talented pairing in the field, and they’ll feel confident in their chances of winning.
Koepka is no stranger to playing in team events, having been a regular on Team USA’s Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup teams. But his team record leaves much to be desired.
First, the Ryder Cup, where Koepka has a record of 7-6-2. But three of those wins, and a tie, come from Sunday Singles. In the team events at the Ryder Cup, Koepka’s record is 4-6-1.
He also suffered the biggest defeat in a team event in Ryder Cup history, losing 9&7 to Ludvig Aberg and Viktor Hovland in 2023 alongside Scottie Scheffler.
Koepka has played in just one Presidents Cup in 2017, and there he put in a better showing. He went 2-1 in the team events at Liberty National.
He’ll hope for a better showing alongside Ryder Cup specialist Lowry, who is 3-2-1 in Ryder Cup team events, and a past winner of the Zurich.
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