The title defense at the TPC Louisiana at Avondale is hitting the right gear at the right moment. The Irish duo of Shane Lowry and Rory McIlroy clinched the 2024 edition with a playoff victory against Chad Ramey and Martin Trainer last year. The pair started the proceedings on day 1 with an 8-under-par score on the four-ball format before finishing day 2 with a total of 11 under par and positioned T16. But day 3 proved to be the highlight so far, with an excellent showing by them.

Just like the first round, McIlroy and Lowry had a foursome round that saw the work distributed between the Irish duo pretty evenly, except this time around, both were brilliant instead of just above average. Lowry started the front nine really well, registering two birdies and an eagle, and six of his scores got carded, while McIlroy did much of the heavy lifting during the back nine, scoring three birdies and finishing off with a brilliant putt for an eagle. A total of 11 under par for the day.

Lowry embodied the milestone in a tweet at the end of the day, stating his feelings in 6 words: “A good day at the office.” The Irish duo are currently placed T6 in the leaderboard with a total score of 22 under par, giving them a real shot at defending their title on day 4, which is alternate. They had previously scored 3 under par on day 2, which was also alternate. Their winning score last year was 25 under par, which got them a tie for first place and a spot in the playoffs. McIlroy’s eagle putt, which was the second of their day, was pretty crucial as it helped them end with some momentum heading to the last day.

Lowry explained the importance of the eagle during the end-of-the-round press conference. “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,” the Irish golfer stated.

The putt was especially impressive from the Masters champion, considering that it came after nearly 90 minutes of rain delay.

The rain delay before the eagle putt

In a day where the pace of play has taken the forefront of discussions on the PGA Tour, very rarely do you get to take 90 minutes to think about how to hit a putt. McIlroy’s ball was on the green when the play was called off. When asked about how he used those 90 minutes to his advantage when he was back on the course, the 5-time Major winner was very candid.

“I think the secret is not thinking about it in those 90 minutes. 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,” McIlroy stated. The same dinner that is going to taste better for Lowry! “The last thing on my mind during the delay was the putt, and then once I got back out there, I sort of concentrated on it and made sure I did what I needed to do, and it was just a bonus for it to go in,”  the Northern Irish golfer further added.

The experience the duo has is helping them be more prepared and understanding of how to approach certain crucial aspects of the game. More magic can be expected on the final day with the likes of Novak-Griffin, the Hojgaard brothers, Salinda-Velo, Knapp-Capan III, and Hisatsune-Kanaya ahead of them on the leaderboard.

A good fight should ensue on day 4. What do you think of the chances for the pair? Will they be able to defend their title with a strong showing on day 4, or will the rest of the field prove too strong for them?