Top News

There was no Rory McIlroy at this year Zurich Classic of New Orleans, bringing to an end the Masters champion's partnership with close friend Shane Lowry, at least for now. In the absence of the pairing, another Ryder Cup star took centre stage and earned an X-rated message from McIlroy by way of congratulations. Matt Fitzpatrick paired up with his younger brother Alex in Louisiana and the pair claimed victory by a single stroke. The win saw the siblings each bag $1.43million (£1.06m), with the elder sibling hearing from Team Europe colleague McIlroy after one particularly impressive shot.

In behind-the-scenes footage shared by the PGA Tour, Matt can be seen telling Alex he has received a message from McIlroy. "What a ******* bunker shot!" read the message, in relation to a shot which set Alex up for a birdie to help the pair secure victory. "I just watched it, it was one of the most disgusting bunker shots ever," said Alex, congratulating his brother on the outrageous effort. Every putt counted in the end, with Norwegian team Kristoffer Reitan and Kristoffer Ventura and American paid Alex Smalley and Hayden Springer each finishing just one stroke adrift.

The victory for the Fitzpatrick brothers saw them follow in the footsteps of McIlroy and Lowry, who won in 2024 after a play-off against Chad Ramey and Martin Trainer. McIlroy and Lowry attempted to defend their title in 2025 but could only finish tied for 12th, with Ben Griffin and Andrew Nowak coming out on top.

In 2026, with McIlroy sitting the tournament out, Lowry paired up with Brooks Koepka. Lowry and Koepka shot nine under par through the first two rounds but that wasn't enough for them to make the cut.

The American has returned to the PGA Tour following a spell with LIV Golf and finished tied for 12th at the Masters as McIlroy defended his title. Irish pro Lowry spoke about the process which led to him choosing a new partner after learning his friend wouldn't be taking part.

EXPRESS SPORT ON FB!Get all the best sports news and much more on our Facebook page

"I asked about 10 or 12 other guys first and they all said no," Lowry told The Golf Channel. "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. You have to have multiple majors to be able to team up with me in this tournament. It's good that he said yes."