McIlroy and Lowry dovetail as Rahm and Hatton get Ryder Cup lifeline

Rory McIlroy knows a team is stronger when it plays to its strengths and it worked out of him on and off the course in the space of 24 hours.

As DP World Tour boss Guy Kinnings confirmed LIV Golf’s Jon Rahm will remain eligible for the 2025 Ryder Cup without the need for a rules change, McIlroy’s power and Shane Lowry’s phenomenal short game made up for their weaknesses in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.

Lowry’s shoulders started to slump at TPC Louisiana when he missed short birdie putts at the par-five 18th and second holes, then bunkered his tee shot at the short third, leading to a bogey that left them two shots off the pace in the day two foursomes.

But with McIlroy encouraging him, the Offaly man made a 12-footer for par at the fourth, chipped close at the seventh, and hit a bunker shot tight at the driveable eighth to set up back-to-back birdies that saw them card a two-under 70 that left them tied at the top with David Lipsky and Aaron Rai on 13 under.

“I started to get a little bit into myself, but to roll that one in was nice,” Lowry said of the fourth. “And to play the last few holes the way we did was really nice too.

“I think (there’s) a bit of a lesson there for myself to kind of keep going and just keep trying and keep plugging away. We did that today, and I’m pretty happy how we finished.”

McIlroy said he was trying to keep Lowry as positive as possible and while he was also encouraging Rahm when he called for a Ryder Cup qualifying rules change after the Spaniard jumped to LIV Golf in December, Kinnings says no change was needed.

“People instantly thought we would have to change the rules,” Kinnings said. “But actually, we don’t. If Jon follows the procedures in place, there is no reason why he would not be eligible for the 2025 Ryder Cup.”

Rahm and LIV team-mate Tyrrell Hatton must serve a suspension and an undisclosed fine for each breach of the rules if they play a LIV Golf event without an official release.

But under the current rules, which are unlikely to be changed for the 2025 matches, they can serve a suspension in subsequent DP World Tour events, even if they had no intention of entering them, and still have time to play the four-event minimum required to keep their membership.

“Any player will still be able to do that, even if he serves any and all suspensions levied,” Kinnings said. “There are enough weeks in the year to do that. That’s not a loophole. Those are the rules we have always had.”

The 2025 Ryder Cup may come too soon for Tom McKibbin but the Holywood star continues to shine, carding a six-under 64 to lie just three shots behind Sam Bairstow, Yannik Paul, Sebastian Söderberg and Japan’s Taihei Sato at halfway in the ISPS Handa Championship at Taiheiyo Club’s Gotemba Course in Japan.

In Abu Dhabi, Ballymena’s Dermot McElroy shot a four-under 68 to sit just four shots off behind leader Joshua Berry on seven under the UAE Challenge at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club with Conor Purcell seven adrift after a 71.

At the Investec SA Women’s Open at Erinvale, Olivia Mehaffey roared home in five-under 31 to make the cut with a shot to spare.

Eight-over with nine to play, four shots outside the eventual cut, she followed an eagle two at the 10th and birdies at the 11th, 16th and 18th to shoot 68 and make it on three-over.

While Lauren Walsh missed the cut after a second-round 76, Mehaffey is tied for 49th, 11 strokes behind Belgian pacesetter Manon De Roey.

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