Zurich Classic organisers helped Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry feel right at home in New Orleans on Saturday by belting out their favourite tune on the opening tee box.
Superstar Irish duo McIlroy and Lowry are defending champions in the popular team event following their brilliant win last year.
The pair beat Chad Ramey and Martin Trainer in a play-off at TPC Louisiana last April to secure a fan-favourite victory.
In true Irish style, McIlroy and Lowry celebrated long into the night and were filmed downing beers and belting out karaoke classic ‘Don’t Stop Believin’.
They have teamed up again to try and defend their title and are right in the mix to do just that heading into Sunday’s final round.
Ahead of Saturday’s opening shots, event bosses put Journey’s 1981 anthem on the loud speakers as McIlroy and Lowry stepped onto the first tee box.
It left the pair in stitches of laughter, no doubt bringing memories flooding back of their boozy celebrations last spring.
The Irish team will now be fully focused on trying to jump up the leaderboard on Sunday and overhaul their rivals to claim back-to-back wins.
They start the day at 22-under-par following Saturday’s superb 61.
Americans Andrew Novak and Ben Griffin lead at 27-under but there are plenty of other pairs in contention on a crowded leaderboard.
And Sunday’s finale is set to be a hectic and exciting race to the finish line as the Zurich Classic format switches back to foursomes.
Rounds 1 and 3 were played as fourballs, where each player plays their own ball and the lowest score contributes to the team total.
Masters champion McIlroy has been in fine form again this weekGettyBut Rounds 2 and 4 are foursomes – or alternate-shot – where the teams must take it in turns to play the same ball.
It usually produces plenty of mistakes but also moments of brilliance and McIlroy and Lowry will be hoping to combine well again to take victory.
On Saturday, Lowry eagled the par-five seventh as the Irish stars picked up six shots on the outward nine, before adding four more birdies on the back nine.
They dropped a shot on the 17th but that was followed by a 30-foot eagle at the last from McIlroy after a 90-minute delay because of lightning.
“I was pretty happy to have Rory go out and eagle the last there,” said Lowry.
McIlroy and Lowry won the PGA Tour’s one team event in 2024Getty“It makes dinner taste nicer and kind of puts us in a great position going into tomorrow.”
McIlroy, playing his first tournament since winning The Masters and completing the career Grand Slam, said they filled the delay watching highlights of their victory last year and planning where to go for dinner.
“The last thing on my mind during the delay was the putt, and then once I got back out there, I sort of concentrated on it and made sure I did what I needed to do and just a bonus for it to go in,” said McIlroy.
McIlroy and Lowry will begin their final round at 6:33pm UK time tonight before the leaders of Novak and Griffin head out at 6:55pm.
talkSPORT 2 will have live commentary of the action in Avondale and you can listen here.
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