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Rory McIlroy was present when learning of Shane Lowry's decision to take his spot as his team-mate in the Zurich Classic. The reigning Masters champion has competed in the New Orleans-based event - where prize winnings sit at £7.1million ($9.5m) this year - alongside Lowry for the past two years with the pair winning it back in 2024.

However, after winning at Augusta for a second consecutive year, Lowry revealed the Northern Irishman had told him he planned to skip the Louisiana event in order to rest following his exploits in Georgia. Finding himself without a team-mate, the Irishman admitted he sent out an offer to numerous golfers who rejected him before an agreement was clinched with five-time major champion Brooks Koepka.

Discussing the process that took him to eventually teaming up with Koepka, Lowry told The Golf Channel: "I asked about 10 or 12 other guys first and they all said no. Rory quickly said after last year, I don't think he wanted to come back. It wasn't until the end of the year I was doing my schedule, and I was going to add this in, that I knew I needed to start looking for a new teammate.

"I met Brooks down in Florida at a place where we both practice just after Christmas and mentioned that I might need a partner for New Orleans. He said he'd be up for it and it kind of went from there. I said it to his caddy, Ricky [Elliott], a couple of weeks later. Then I saw Brooks a few weeks after that and said, are we going to tee it up together? And he said yes. So, nice to be here.

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"You have to have multiple majors to be able to team up with me in this tournament. It's good that he said yes." The agreement to join forces was made in McIlroy's presence who was sat next to Lowry when the 39-year-old asked the American to be his partner.

Koepka confirmed: "I remember it. He was actually sitting at a table with Rory when he asked me. I think it was either December or January. I forget what it was. It was around that time. I think at the time when he asked me, I wasn't sure what my playing schedule was going to be.

"I'm just happy to be here and happy to be a part of it. I'm thankful to have a good partner and we'll see how the week goes." Lowry admitted their partnership is an unusual given their contrasting demeanours with Koepka known for his serious disposition while Lowry is rarely seen without a smile.

The Irishman explained: "On the outside, it might not look like it makes sense, but to us it does. I think the ball, everything about it, you know, we do have a good relationship and we're going to have a good bit of fun out there." It wasn't a successful start to their partnership after they missed the cut in New Orleans when playing alongside Matt Fitzpatrick and Alex Fitzpatrick.