Defending champs Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry have work to do if they are to retain their Zurich Classic trophy later today in New Orleans.
The all-Irish pairing were tied for the lead at 22-under at the end of their round but when the curtains were drawn on day three the reigning Masters champion and his 2019 Open Champion winning partner were five shots back of the American duo of Ben Griffin and Andrew Novak who combined to produce a ‘better ball’ 61 and seize a three-shot lead at 27-under on the host TPC Louisiana course.
Compatriots Jake Knapp and Frankie Capan III (60) were tied in second place at 24-under with Japan’s Ryo Hisatsune and Takumi Kanaya (61) with the Hojgaard twins Nicolai and Rasmus (64) were tied for fourth with Isaiah Salinda and Kevin Velo (66) at 23-under.
Shane Lowry and team-mate Rory McIlroy in good mood ahead of tee-off on day three of the Zurich Classic. Image Getty/Zurich Classic
McIlroy brilliantly helped capped the Irish team effort in returning from a 90-minute storm delay to hole a 30-foot putt for eagle at teh last,
“I think the secret is not thinking about it in those 90 minutes,” McIlroy said of the eagle.
“We had a bit of lunch, and we were watching some highlights from last year and talking about a bunch of — where we’re going to go for dinner tonight.”
Lowry commented: “I feel like we played pretty well today,“ Lowry said. “We went out and we did what we had to do.
“Look, we knew we were going to have to go out and shoot a really low score today. There’s not much wind out there, and the course is fairly gettable, and in four-balls you want to be shooting at least 10-under.
“I was pretty happy to have Rory go out and eagle the last there. It makes dinner taste nicer and kind of puts us in a great position going into tomorrow.”
Third-Round Notes – Saturday, April 26, 2025
Weather: Partly cloudy morning with afternoon showers. High of 84. Wind ESE 4-12 mph.
Suspension: Play was suspended due to inclement weather at 2:15 p.m. CT and resumed at 3:45 p.m., a delay of 1 hour, 30 minutes.
Third-Round Leaderboard
Leaderboard – Day 3 2025 Zurich Classic (Image CBS)
Andrew Novak/Ben Griffin (1st/-27)
- Post third-round 61 in Four-ball after opening with a 6-under 30 and closing with a 5-under 31
- A win would mark the first career PGA TOUR victory for each player; Novak is making his 100th career start on TOUR this week, while Griffin is making his 90th start
- Results with 54-hole lead/co-lead:
- Novak: 0-for-1 (2024 Butterfield Bermuda Championship/2nd)
- Griffin: 0-for-2 (2023 Sanderson Farms Championship/T2, 2022 Butterfield Bermuda Championship/T3)
- Each player has two career runner-up finishes on TOUR:
- Novak: 2025 RBC Heritage (P2) and 2024 Butterfield Bermuda Championship (2nd)
- Griffin: 2024 RBC Canadian Open (2nd) and 2023 Sanderson Farms Championship (P2)
- Both players own one PGA TOUR-sanctioned title:
- Novak: 2020 LECOM Suncoast Classic (Korn Ferry Tour)
- Griffin: 2018 Staal Foundation Open (PGA TOUR Canada)
- Players to win their first career PGA TOUR title at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans since 2017: Cameron Smith (2017 with Jonas Blixt), Nick Hardy/Davis Riley (2023)
- Novak is coming off a playoff loss to Justin Thomas at last week’s RBC Heritage, one of three top-three finishes in 13 starts this season; others: 3rd/Farmers Insurance Open, T3/Valero Texas Open
- The last player to lose in a playoff and win the following week on TOUR: Patrick Cantlay/2022 RBC Heritage, 2022 Zurich Classic of New Orleans
- Griffin owns three top-10s in 13 starts this season: T4/Mexico Open at VidantaWorld, T4/Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches, T7/The American Express
- With a win, Novak is projected to move from No. 15 to No. 6 in the FedExCup standings and Griffin is projected to move from No. 47 to No. 21
Additional Team Notes
- Jake Knapp/Frankie Capan III (T2/-24), each making their tournament debut, post the low round of the day with a 12-under 60 in Four-ball; Capan, in his rookie season, has one top-25 finish in 15 starts (T12/The American Express), while Knapp is bidding for his second career victory (2024 Mexico Open at VidantaWorld) in his 40th career start
- Ryo Hisatsune/Takumi Kanaya (T2/-24) open with a 7-under 29 on the front and closed with 4-under 32; Hisatsune has three top-10 finishes this season (best: T4/Valspar Championship) and Kanaya seeks his first top-10 of the year
- In their second consecutive year as partners, Denmark twins Nicolai/Rasmus Højgaard (T4/-23) post 64 in Four-ball and sit four shots back entering the final round
- PGA TOUR rookies Isaiah Salinda/Kevin Velo (T4/-23), who held the 18- and 36-hole lead, post 66 in Four-ball
- Defending champions Rory McIlroy/Shane Lowry (T6/-22) card two eagles (Nos. 7 and 18) en route to a 61 in Four-ball; four total eagles through three rounds is the most by any team this week; bidding to become the first team to successfully defend their title at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans since the team format was introduced in 2017
- With a win, McIlroy would join Gene Sarazen (1935 Massachusetts Open) as the only players to win in their first start after completing the Career Grand Slam
- After making the 36-hole cut on the number, Taylor Dickson/Trace Crowe (T9/-21) and Karl Vilips/Michael Thorbjornsen (T9/-21) card matching 11-under 61s
- Since the team format was introduced in 2017, three of the seven winning teams held the 54-hole lead/co-lead (2022/Patrick Cantlay/Xander Schauffele, 2019/Ryan Palmer/Jon Rahm, 2017/Jonas Blixt/Cameron Smith)
- The largest final-round comeback since 2017 is three strokes (2023/Nick Hardy/Davis Riley, 2018/Billy Horschel/Scott Piercy)
Format
- This is the eighth year the Zurich Classic of New Orleans will be played in a two-man team format, which was introduced in 2017 (canceled in 2020 due to COVID-19)
- Teams play Four-ball in the first and third rounds, and Foursomes (alternate shot) in the second and final rounds
- Each player on the winning team will receive 400 FedExCup points, $1,329,400, a two-year exemption on the PGA TOUR (through 2027) and entry into the three remaining Signature Events
