McIlroy and Lowry rally, win Zurich Classic in playoff
- by tdn
- Apr 28, 2024
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Shane Lowry, of Ireland, right, embraces his teammate Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, after winning the PGA Zurich Classic Sunday at TPC Louisiana in Avondale, La.
Gerald Herbert, Associated Press
Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, chips onto the second green during Sunday's final round of the PGA Zurich Classic in Avondale, La.
Gerald Herbert, Associated Press Listen now and subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS Feed | SoundStack | All Of Our Podcasts
But Lowry came through when he had to on the 18th, forcing the playoff with a short birdie putt on the par-5 hole, capitalizing on McIlroy's deft lofted chip from the apron that stopped close to the pin.
Ryan Brehm and Mark Hubbard were nearly in the playoff as well. Needing a birdie, they went long off the 18th green on their second shot. Hubbard's chip up the back apron stopped short on the fringe, but Brehm still nearly sank a birdie putt from there, leaving the ball near the right edge of the cup as the crowd gasped. They finished third at 24 under.
Former BYU teammates Patrick Fishburn and Zach Blair, the leaders after three rounds, were still tied for the lead heading to 17, only to make a double bogey after Blair's tee shot landed right of the green and Fishburn chipped short. They wound up in a four-way tie for fourth at 23 under.
Defending champions Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin finished 10th after their final-round 71 left them at 21 under.
McIlroy and Lowry began the day two shots off the lead and bogeyed two of their first three holes before beginning the charge on the seventh, where McIlroy made the first of four birdie putts over the next five holes.
McIlroy had two miss-hits down the stretch that could have been costly, leaving an approach shot well short of the green on the par-4 13th and hitting short into a fairway bunker on the short par-4 16th.
Lowry chipped to about 10 feet and McIlroy saved par on 13. On 16, Lowry found the left side of the green with his approach shot from the sand and McIlroy sank a right-breaking birdie putt to lift his team into a tie for first at 25-under.
But the Irishmen bogeyed 17 after Lowry's faded tee shot landed in the gallery right of the green and McIlroy's chip over the ridge of a bunker ran well past the hole.
That meant they would have to have a birdie on 18 to force a playoff. They got it, starting with McIlroy's booming tee shot into the water-lined fairway.
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