'I want to go and win': Why Shane Lowry picked Brooks Koepka for the Zurich Classic

Peanut butter and jelly, rock and roll, Shane Lowry and Rory McIlroy at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. Over the past few years, Lowry and McIlroy have become a staple of the PGA Tour’s only team-up event, even winning back in 2024 and showing off their vocal ranges in a little post-victory karaoke. Now, McIlroy’s taking a break after his second green jacket, prompting Lowry to find, well, another multi-time major champ as a replacement.

The major-champ-winning Irishman will join forces with five-time major champ Brooks Koepka this year at TPC Louisiana, in one of the most seemingly out-of-nowhere pairings in recent history. Until you hear things from their perspective.

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“Well, I’m playing, and obviously, my partner from the last two years told me that he wasn’t going to play,” Lowry told Chantel McCabe on Sirius XM Radio. “And I’ve known Brooks a while, and I’m friendly with Ricky Elliott, his caddie.

“So I said to Rickie, I kind of knew Brooks was going to have to play because he wasn’t in many of the signature events. And I said, ‘do you think Brooks will play?’ We’re both Srixon players, it kind of fits a little bit. And he’s obviously a very good player, and I want to go and win.”

Definitely the most illustrious pairing of the event, a win would be nice for Lowry with potentially 400 FedEx Cup points and a $1,372,750 payday. But it would be a godsend for Koepka, trying to find his footing after his return to the PGA Tour.

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Brooks Koepka and Shane Lowry of Ireland joke around at the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play in 2022

Ben Jared

Since his January return from LIV Golf, Koepka has been fighting to qualify for the signature events and earn enough points to get into the FedEx Cup Playoffs. A win, or even a strong finish at the Zurich Classic, would get him back into the swing of things.