Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry started their defence of their Zurich Classic title with a strong 64 on Thursday at TPC Louisiana.

The Irish pair is six shots behind the leaders after the first round. This is their first time playing together since McIlroy won his career Grand Slam at Augusta earlier this month.

Isaiah Salinda and Kevin Velo, who are new to the PGA Tour, set a tournament record with a score of 58 in the better-ball style.

As we head into Friday’s foursomes alternate shot format, the reigning champions will need to make up ground. No team has ever successfully defended the Zurich Classic title.

Lowry led the team on the front nine holes; the Offaly man’s score was important on seven of the nine holes in the fourball version.

At the turn, they were four shots under par after birdies on the 10th, 11th, 13th, and 18th holes.

Then, on their second nine, McIlroy got back to his Augusta form. He birdied the first hole and then made a great eagle on the second hole to bring the team to seven-under.

Lowry made a birdie on the fourth hole, but then made two bogeys on the sixth. McIlroy then made a birdie on the par-5 seventh hole, which gave them a total score of eight-under.

Reports say they played the course “the wrong way round” by starting at the 10th hole.

Nicolai and Rasmus Hojgaard, two identical twins from Denmark, are one shot behind the winners after shooting a great 59.

With scores of 61, Collin Morikawa and Kurt Kitayama, also from the United States, are tied for third place.

British golfer Matt Wallace and his Danish partner Thorbjorn Olesen are one stroke further back.

Matt Wallace and Thorbjorn Olesen discussing their performance in the tournament.
British golfer Matt Wallace and Danish partner Thorbjorn Olesen are just one stroke behind in the tournament standings.

A round of 63 was taken by Aaron Rai of England and Sahith Theegala of the United States.

Robert MacIntyre from Scotland and Belgium’s Thomas Detry are tied for 28th place alongside McIlroy and Lowry. Luke Donald and Camilo Villegas from Colombia comprise the European Ryder Cup leader and his partner.

Fourball is played on Thursday and Saturday, and foursomes are played on Friday and Sunday.

Rory McIlroy jokes about his slow start in his first round of golf after winning the Masters.
Rory McIlroy humorously reflects on his slow start in his first round of golf since winning the Masters on April 13.

McIlroy made fun of his slow start in the first round of golf since April 13, when he won the Masters.

Rory McIlroy remarked, “Shane joked that I could have gotten a couple of extra hours of sleep if I wanted to. I played a bit better once I came in, and overall, it was fine.”

The 35-year-old mentioned that he “didn’t do anything” on the front nine but improved after the turn.

Rory McIlroy mentioned, “We believe we missed a few opportunities, but we were just discussing how the two foursome days on Friday and Sunday are the crucial days in this tournament.”

“It’s important for us to obviously post a good score tomorrow.”