For a moment Friday, the Zurich Classic transformed from a golf tournament to a coronation.
Rory McIlroy and his playing partner, Shane Lowry, made their way to the 18th tee box through the ramp beside Walk-On’s Stadium Club at the back of the 17th green. As the amiable Irishmen scaled the stairs to the walk-through ramp, clusters of fans crowded along the security ropes, and someone inside the suite queued up the Dropkick Murphys and blasted “I’m Shipping up to Boston” on the sound system. A chorus of “Rory! Rory! Rory!” chants erupted from the crowd.
If McIlroy were harboring any misgivings about his decision to play the Zurich Classic for the first time this year, they undoubtedly melted away during the only-in-New-Orleans-style welcome party. The only thing missing was a second line.
“I’ve had a wonderful time so far,” McIlroy said. “It’s been amazing.”
McIlroy’s summation of his first NOLA experience was as accurate as his iron play during the tournament’s first 36 holes.
Simply put, the Zurich has never seen anything like the first two days of this year’s event. McIlroy's appearance has been a transformative boon for the tournament.
The crowds for the first and second rounds are unofficially the largest for a Thursday and Friday in tournament history, said Steve Worthy, the CEO of the Fore!Kids Foundation, which runs the event. Crowds lined the fairway for hundreds of yards and gathered five-deep around the greens to catch a glimpse of McIlroy during his four-hour round with Lowry and the team of Collin Morikawa and Kurt Kitayama. Tickets for the tournament’s popular “Best of the Zurich” VIP experience sold out both days. Patrons were parking in spots Friday never before used along Lapalco Boulevard, Worthy said.
All of this in a year where the tournament is competing with Jazz Fest for attendance and the NFL Draft for attention.
And it’s all happened because of one reason: the Rory Factor.
“It’s been huge,” Worthy said. “Right now, short of Tiger (Woods), I don’t know anybody that would have as big an impact on that kind of excitement level. We thought leading in (to the tournament), and it’s proven out since he’s been here.”
In the hierarchy of modern golf royalty, McIlroy occupies a lofty perch. Along with Tiger and Phil, he’s one of the few linksters familiar to casual sports fans. And given that Woods has never played the Zurich and Mickelson hasn’t been here since 2006, McIlroy is the biggest thing to happen to New Orleans golf in years, perhaps decades.
He entered the tournament ranked No. 2 in the world, having finished no lower than 16th in any of his eight Tour starts this season. And with 24 career tournament wins and 17 other European Tour victories on his resume, he is tied for 26th on the PGA Tour’s list of all-time winners.
And while Jack Nicklaus, Ben Hogan, Byron Nelson and Tom Watson might rank higher than McIlroy in the pantheon of golfing greats to play here, McIlory, all things considered — accomplishments, fame, likeability and ranking — might be the biggest draw in Zurich history, certainly the most since Mickelson last played here in 2006.
“We’ve had big strong deep fields, but there’s been a different feel around town this week,” Worthy said. “There are a ton of great golfers and a ton of great stories here this week, but he’s different.”
The muggy weather on Friday was certainly different than anything either Irishman experienced in their home country. With gusty winds and humidity hovering around 60%, the heat indices approached 90 degrees in the early afternoon, making it difficult to break par during the alternate-shot format.
Yet McIlroy never seemed to break a sweat as he played nearly flawless golf for most of the day in leading his team to a score of 13-under, good for a four-way tie atop the tournament leaderboard.
McIlroy and Lowry sandwiched birdies around a bogey on No. 12, then scored par on 10 of the next 11 holes before finishing birdie-birdie on Nos. 17 and 18.
Their score could have been even lower had Lowry not missed short putts on Nos. 18, 1, 2 and 3, before rolling in a 15-footer for birdie on No. 4 to right the ship.
“I started to get a little bit into myself, but to roll that one in was nice, and to play the last few holes the way we did was really nice, too,” Lowry said. “It's nice to know you've got Rory McIlroy backing you up.”
McIlroy and Lowry have tried to make the most of their first visit to New Orleans. McIlroy signed autographs and posed for selfies for 30 minutes after his round on Friday. Both players are staying downtown and have visited a different local restaurant for an early dinner each night — including La Petite Grocery, where they dined on, among other things, crawfish beignets.
McIlroy even pledged to make a pit stop on Bourbon Street at some point to he can cross it off his bucket list.
“We’ll go for a little stroll around the city and have a look at — just look around,” Lowry said. “We’ll enjoy ourselves, go for a nice dinner, but we’re here to play a golf tournament.”
Thanks to McIlroy, it’s been a tournament unlike any other New Orleans has seen. And we're only halfway through it.