Shane Lowry explains why he’s playing the Zurich Classic with Brooks Koepka instead of Rory McIlroy

Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images Shane Lowry is a part of an unlikely partnership at this week’s Zurich Classic. The 2019 Open Championship winner is pairing up with five-time major winner Brooks Koepka in the team event in New Orleans. For the last two years, Lowry has teamed with his good friend Rory McIlroy, winning it in 2024, but the back-to-back Masters winner isn’t playing the event this year, so Lowry had to seek a new partner.

In the build-up to the event, Lowry explained why he chose Koepka as the man to go to battle with at the Zurich. Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images The reason why Shane Lowry chose Brooks Koepka as his Zurich Classic partner Koepka returned to the PGA Tour from LIV Golf this year under specific conditions. He made a $5 million charitable donation and accepted that he won’t receive FedEx Cup bonus money or sponsor exemptions for Signature Events in 2026.

Under these conditions, Koepka is playing in nearly every event in which he’s eligible for, which led Lowry to ask him to partner with him at the Zurich. Speaking to Chantel McCabe on Sirius XM Radio, Lowry explained how the partnership came to fruition: “Well, I’m playing, and obviously, my partner from the last two years told me that he wasn’t going to play. And I’ve known Brooks a while, and I’m friendly with Ricky Elliot, 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.