Shane Lowry makes playful jibe to Rory McIlroy after bad start in team event

The defending champions were off the pace

Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry are in a tie for 28th, after an opening round of eight under par at the Zurich Classic in New Orleans.

The pair are the defending champions in the team event, with the first and third rounds played in fourball format, with both players playing their own ball, while the third and fourth rounds are an alternate shot format.

Americans Isaiah Salinda and Kevin Velo lead the way at -14, following a course-record 58.

Lowry did the heavy lifting for the team on the front nine, with birdies in the first two holes, while McIlroy only contributed two par scores in the first half of the round.

He did, however, briefly catch fire with a birdie and an eagle on their ninth and tenth holes.

After yesterday's round, McIlroy revealed that his partner made light of his poor start on the course.

He said: "Yeah, Shane got off to a really good start. I didn't do anything.

"Shane joked I could have got a couple extra hours in bed if I wanted to. But yeah, I played a bit better coming in.

"Yeah, it was okay. We felt like we left a few shots out there, but we were just saying the two foursomes days on Friday and Sunday here are the important days in this tournament, and it's important for us to obviously post a good score tomorrow."