Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry's bromance on full display at Zurich Classic

Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry are in contention after 36 holes at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans on the PGA Tour at TPC Louisiana.

Ben Smith

26 Apr 2024

Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry's bromance was on full display as they stayed in contention at the top of the leaderboard after 36 holes at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.

The Ryder Cup teammates carded an opening round of 10-under 61 at the PGA Tour's pairs event at TPC Louisiana in the four-balls format.

And on day two, their managed to card a two-under 70 as the tournament switched to a more difficult foursomes format.

It lifted the Irish duo to 13-under after 36 holes and left them bang in contention heading into the weekend.

Their scorecard contained two bogeys and four birdies.

"Shane has got a wonderful short game," said McIlroy.

"And it gives me confidence going for those greens whether it be the par-4s or the par-5s that if I get it anywhere up there around the green, I'm going to have a very good look for birdie after he hits his."

Despite the strong start, the pair are resisting the temptation to go and relax with a few drinks after having an early tee time on day two.

"We're here to play a golf tournament," Lowry said.

"We'll enjoy ourselves. We'll go for a nice dinner tonight. I'm not sure -- we have a restaurant booked, but I'm not sure.

"I'll do the same thing I do when I have an afternoon off.

"I'll go back to the hotel, freshen up, and go for a little stroll around the city and have a look at -- just look around. That's what I do."

Elsewhere, McIlroy and Lowry are being chased by David Lipsky and England's Aaron Rai who are also on the same score.

Matthew Fitzpatrick and his younger brother Alex are three strokes off the lead.

The highest-profile pairing who missed the cut were Danish twins Nicolai and Rasmus Hojgaard.