ZURICH CLASSIC OF NEW ORLEANS

April 27, 2024

Rory McIlroy

Shane Lowry

TPC Louisiana

Quick Quotes

Q. Rory, how would you describe today, kind of a slow start for you guys and then you finished strong?

RORY McILROY: We absolutely finished strong. It was a tricky day. The wind was blowing. We had some chances early on that we didn't take advantage of. We birdied the two par-5s on the front nine and then we definitely got it going around the turn. I hit a lovely shot into 9 and was able to convert that, and I think that gave us some really good momentum going into the back nine.

Q. Shane, do you look at the scoreboard? Do you say hey, we're behind, we need to get it going?

SHANE LOWRY: I knew we had a lot of holes to play, but certainly when we were 1-under through 6 and a long way down the leaderboard, I knew we needed to get something going. I think that 6-iron he hit into 9 and he rolled the putt got us going, and from there on in, it was Rory McIlroy at his best, and it was a joy to watch.

Q. Are you looking forward to tomorrow, the alternate shot again?

RORY McILROY: Yeah, can't wait. I think to make those birdies coming in and to only be two behind, alternate shot is a tough format, and yeah, you want to be within a couple strokes of the lead. I thought it was important to finish the way we did, and yeah, excited to have a chance to win tomorrow.

Q. Will green be somewhere on you guys tomorrow?

SHANE LOWRY: I actually don't own a green shirt, so no, we don't have any green with us this week, so I don't know what we have, but we certainly don't have a green shirt. It's my fault.

Q. On Thursday you talked about the importance of getting off to a good start in this format. Today, like you said, one birdie in six holes, that's quite a turnaround. Was that something you discussed on the course?

RORY McILROY: Yeah, I think, look, it was a tough day. Birdies were a little harder to come by today than they were on Thursday in the better ball format. I think today was about staying patient knowing that the course was going to present some opportunities, especially on that back nine, and I think our patience was rewarded with the chances that we gave ourselves, and rolled a couple of putts in on the back and kept ourselves in it.

Q. Not birdieing 8 but turning around and birdieing 9, was that a game changer to build a little momentum?

RORY McILROY: Yeah, so 9 was huge for momentum. That was a game changer. Then I think the birdie on 10 also. We both felt like we hit them out of position off the tee, but I got up there, my ball was actually in a really good spot, so to make birdie from there -- 9 and 10 were huge for us today.

Q. Wind conditions, how much different than the first two days?

RORY McILROY: Yeah, it was blowing. It was a little -- probably a little windier than it was yesterday and out of a absolutely different direction. The course played tough. Hopefully the wind dies down a little bit for tomorrow and we can get after it.