Evandale, Louisiana – Rory McIlroy played for the first time since winning the Masters, teaming up with Shane Lowry to score a 64-under 64 in the Zurich Classic on Thursday, which left the defending Ireland champions 6 shots behind leaders Isaiah Salinda and Kevin Velo.
PGA Tour rookies Salinda and Velo opened with 58 strokes in the Tour’s only team event. Danish identical twins Nicolai and Rasmus Holgaard defeated. These teams will make alternative shots on Friday, better shots on Saturday and alternative shots on Sunday.
Before 8 a.m., a large gallery gathered on the 10th T-shirt at Louisiana TPC and saw McIlroy. After shaking the early stages of illness, he offers some highlights after a relatively slow start.
“It’s great to see so many people on Tuesday morning,” McIlroy said. “It’s always a pleasure to play in front of the supportive, enthusiastic crow and look forward to doing more in the next few days.”
Lowry brought the team early, three holes in the first hole after their back nine and added another hole to the 5th 18.
McIlroy’s first birdie was on the putt of the first place nearly 20 feet and he celebrated with a relaxed fist.
McIlroy was followed by a hawk on the second hole of 5 shots, hitting six irons from 204 yards to 5 feet to reach 8.
They added a bird for the fourth time, but both left a t-shirt in the water in sixth place, both bogey. McIlroy settled on the par-7 hole of the 5-seven club (Par-5) because he lacked a 20-foot hawk putt.
“I think sometimes every bogey you feel like a bogey in these days, but then again, you have to remember that tomorrow and Sunday (alternative shooting) are important days and if you can shoot good results on those days, you can go up very quickly,” McIlroy said.
Salinda and Velo were in the first nine games below 10, with Salinda’s Hawks on No. 7 and Eight Birds. They added four birdies in the last nine, but accounted for three of the last four.
“It’s very easy to golf when golf has a companion stack and make a lot of putts,” Velo said. “Some real clutch cards can save him on the back nine, which is a very, very solid day.”
Collin Morikawa and Kurt Kitayama are ranked third with Cam Davis-Adam Svensson, Paul Peterson-Thomas-Thomas Rosenmueller and Kris Ventura-Antoine Rozner.
Adam Schenk has an albatross in seventh place, hanging from 231 yards. Schenk and Tyler Duncan shot 63.
Germany’s Yannik and Jeremy Paul are another identical twin in the field, shooting 67 from the field.
