The Zurich Classic will see 72 teams compete in four-balls and foursomes in the only pairs event of the PGA Tour season.
Sandwiched in between two majors and three Signature Events this season, the Zurich Classic has a weaker field than usual, with Matt Fitzpatrick teaming up with younger brother Alex, and Shane Lowry and Brooks Koepka playing together.
While the Fitzpatrick duo was expected, the Lowry/Koepka partnership was a little more surprising. Lowry has played alongside Rory McIlroy previously, but with two more Signature Events and a major around the corner, the Irishman has found a new partner in Koepka.
Remarkably, Lowry's only solo PGA Tour win came all the way back in 2015 at the WGC-Bridgestone, though he was victorious two years ago the Zurich Classic. Koepka's last win on the PGA Tour was back in 2021 at the WM Phoenix Open, though the stakes are a little higher for the five-time major winner.
Since returning to the PGA Tour, Koepka has been ineligible for the Signature Events, but a win would assure him of a place in all remaining Signature Events as well as a two-year PGA Tour exemption.
On how the partnership came to fruition, Lowry said: "I said to him, ‘I might need a partner for New Orleans’. He goes, ‘Well, I’m going to have to play there.’ That was it."
In theory, the duo should work well. While they've got a pre-existing relationship with Koepka cutting his teeth on the DP World Tour before coming back across the Atlantic, Lowry is well acquainted with Koepka's Northern Irish caddie Ricky Elliott, and their games seem complementary.
Lowry's accurate off the tee with a putter that's been improving over the last six months, while Koepka's iron play has been exemplary since returning to the PGA Tour.
"I like the way we’re going with him hitting off certain holes and me hitting off the other holes," Koepka said.
"Everybody feels comfortable on the holes that we’re going to play. Then the best-ball side of this whole thing, he’s been playing great, so just let him go do him and stay out of the way."
