Irish mates highlight Netflix docuseries
Full Swing Season 3 shows difference a win can make; Stray Shots: Genesis delivers promising returns
Netflix docuseries captures the big pick-me-up winning the Zurich Classic was for Irish mates Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry (Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
Can one tournament with no world ranking points make the difference for a struggling player?
In episode two, “Through Thick and Thin,” of season three of Full Swing, the Zurich Classic of New Orleans was one of the Netflix docuseries’ focuses.
Shane Lowry and Rory McIlroy teed it up as a team for the first time in New Orleans and eventually won in a playoff, which was a producer’s dream come true.
Because of Netflix’s access to the locker room and fitness trailer — places that the media has limited or no access to — it provided insights rarely seen of Irish mates Lowry and McIlroy.
In hindsight, it seems like a no-brainer that the Irish boys would be a big part of the story, but it was far from guaranteed when they teed it up on Thursday in best ball opening round.
Lowry had little to show for the beginning of 2024 except for a T4 at the Cognizant Classic at PGA National followed by a third the next week at Bay Hill in the Arnold Palmer Invitational — two results that pushed him back inside the OWGR top 50 after slipping to No. 57.
McIlroy had not won in North America since October 2022 at the CJ Cup in South Carolina. He used the only team event on the PGA Tour schedule as a launching pad. In the 2024 campaign to that point, the then-world No. 2 had eight tournaments under his belt, including only one top-10 finish and a third at the Valero Texas Open, but he hadn’t missed a cut.
One of the questions from the media pre-tournament was “What makes you guys such a great team out there this week?”
“I think we feed off each other well,” Lowry said. “I think we’re good for each other on and off the course.”
Said McIlroy: “I’ll know when to leave him alone on the course. I’ll know when I can speak up. I think just having that understanding of your partner is a good thing.”
After a 61 in the first round, those who weren’t already focused on the Irish power team turned their gaze toward the two friends since their junior golf days.
With nothing given to a player in professional golf, reaching the win after the first round proved to be a struggle. But the playoff payoff gave both players a kick in the pants.
“I wasn’t going to be in Quail Hollow, I was hoping to get an invite for Memorial … and Travelers. I really didn’t know what was going to happen,” Lowry said after a victory that book him into the rest of the 2024 signature events. “I knew I needed to make up some FedEx Cup points, and this gets me in those (events) and it means I can plan my schedule now.
“With family stuff and my wife and kids going back to Ireland in the summer, it means I really don’t have to stay over here and grind it out too long. I can do more what I feel like I wanted to do. It’s freed me up a lot this summer. Hopefully, we can both kick on now. We’ve got three majors left. Hopefully, we can get one each, or maybe two and one.”
Lowry — who was still No. 41 in the world after the Zurich and was running out of major exemptions at the end of the season based on his 2019 Open win at Royal Portrush — went on to have chances on the big stages. He finished T6 at the PGA Championship after tying the major record with a 62 in the third round at Valhalla, T19 at the U.S. Open despite coming off soul-crushing 68-85 weekend at the Memorial and a solo sixth at the Open after leading midway through the third round at Royal Troon. He qualified for his first career Tour Championship, finished T9 and securing his place in all the 2025 majors.
For McIlroy, his second half of the season after the Zurich win was filled with hope. A win at the Wells Fargo (at Quail Hollow where this year’s PGA will be staged), a T12 at the PGA Championship, T4 in the RBC Canadian, T15 at Memorial, devastating runner-up finish at the U.S. Open, T4 at the Genesis Scottish Open, T5 at the Olympics and T9 at the Tour Championship.
These are things — including that heartbreaking outcome at Pinehurst — that feature prominently in Season 3 of the Netflix fly-on-the-wall docuseries that captures moments the regular TV broadcast is unable to get.
He followed that up with consecutive runner-ups in the Irish Open at Royal County Down and BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, a T3 in Abu Dhabi and capped the year with a sixth Race to Dubai title, tying Seve Ballesteros’ mark atop the European circuit.
“To win any PGA Tour event is very cool, but to do it with one of your closest friends — we’ve known each other for a long, long time, probably like over 20 years, so to think about where we met and where we've come from — to be on this stage and do this together, really, really cool journey that we’ve been a part of,” McIlroy said. “And yeah, just awesome to be able to do it alongside this guy.”
Team Lowry/McIlroy has committed to return to New Orleans again in April to see if they can successfully defend their Zurich title. The Big Easy is the place to be in late April if you are a golf fan.
Stray Shots: Genesis delivers promise
By Peter Kaufman
What a tour-de-force the Genesis Invitational was last weekend.
Stellar play. A tight finish. Terrific leaderboard. And robust viewership.