Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry finished in a share of 12th place in their defence of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans as Andrew Novak and Ben Griffin triumphed at TPC Louisiana.
McIlroy and Lowry were aiming to become the first duo to go back-to-back since the Zurich Classic became a two-man team event in 2017 and began the final day on 22 under par, five shots adrift of 54-hole leaders Novak and Griffin.
They finished their fourth round six shots behind Novak and Griffin after an even-par 72 during Sunday’s foursomes, looking solid on the front nine with two birdies but then suffering three bogeys coming home that sent them out of contention.
They managed to finish with a flourish as Lowry holed a silky birdie putt on the par-five 18th but that came too late.
Novak and Griffin secured their first PGA Tour wins, the victory for Novak coming just a week after he lost the RBC Heritage in a dramatic play-off against Justin Thomas.
The key moment arrived when Frankie Capan III and Jake Knapp, who had stayed with Griffin and Novak all the way, came up with a mistake on the back nine.
It was Capan III who found the water with his the tee shot on the 17th and ended up with bogey. Meanwhile, Griffin came up with a sensational 35ft birdie to put his team two shots ahead with one hole to play.
From there, they stayed strong with a par on the last to secure what is a huge victory for their careers.
Elsewhere, Nicolai and Rasmus Hojgaard will be ruing what could have been after missteps throughout their final round, with bogeys on the third, 10th, and 15th leaving them one shot behind the winners on 27 under.
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McIlroy sank a monster putt on the 18th hole during round three in New Orleans
The Zurich Classic was McIlroy’s first event since he completed the career Grand Slam at The Masters on April 13 and ended an 11-year major drought stretching back to the 2014 PGA Championship at Valhalla.
The world No 2 is next due to be in action at the Truist Championship – the latest PGA Tour signature event – in Pennsylvania from May 8-11.
McIlroy will then head to the PGA Championship a week later for the second men’s major of the year at Quail Hollow in North Carolina, a venue where he has won four times in the past.
Watch the next PGA Tour event – The CJ Cup Byron Nelson – live on Sky Sports Golf from Thursday. Early coverage begins at 12.45pm ahead of full coverage from 9pm.
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