GRAEME MCDOWELL hailed fellow Red Devils fan, Matt Wallace, as a Ryder Cup star in waiting as they opened with a six-under 66 in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.

The Portrush ace (41) and the English world No 51 made seven birdies and a bogey in the better-ball format at TPC Louisiana to lie just four shots behind Norwegian pair Viktor Hovland and Kris Ventura and Brice Garnett and Scott Stallings, who fired a 10-under 62s.

Leaderboard

“Both our caddies got together at San Antonio over breakfast and with Matt’s caddy asking my caddy: ‘Who does G Mac have for a partner?’  So, they said why don’t we play together and that’s basically how it came about,” said McDowell, who has partnered Shane Lowry in the past..

“I then found out they’d been talking so I walked-up to Matt on the range in San Antonio and said to him: ‘Do you fancy giving the Zurich a go?’   So, thankfully he agreed.

“I had actually played well the week before out in the Dominican so I thought it strengthened my case for a partner because I was texting around and calling a few of the lads trying to rustle-up a partner despite missing several cuts in a row, and thinking to yourself that maybe no-one wants to play with me (laughing).

“So, I’ve ended-up with a really nice player and a guy who is here trying to win the tournament and which is exactly what I am here for.   

Wallace birdied the fifth, seventh, 10th, 11th and 18th and McDowell the eighth and the 17th. And while a bogey by both men at the 16th was a blow, they ended the day tied for 11th, heading into today’s four balls.

“Matt is a Ryder Cup star of the future and I’m looking to be around many Ryder Cup’s over the next five to 10 years, and I also have not spent a lot of time with him,” said McDowell, who has his eye on the captaincy at Adare Manor in 2027.

“He has a very intense personality and prepares hard and also focuses very hard.  I feel like I can also feed off that energy, as well.

“He’s also a Manchester United fan, as well.  I’m now sure if Kenny would have allowed me to choose anyone else who was not a Man U fan.

“We didn’t play all that well but we hung in there and made some birdies, so it turned out to be a good day and already looking forward to getting back out there tomorrow for the alternate shot format which kind of separates the men from the boys.”

Norwegian duo Hovland and Ventura played college golf together at Oklahoma State and while they led for most of the day they were joined at the top by Garnett and Stallings, one shot clear of a seven-strong chasing posse.

First-Round Leaderboard

Viktor Hovland/Kris Ventura                         62 (-10)

Brice Garnett/Scott Stallings                          62 (-10)

Seven teams                                                   63 (-9)

Things to Know

• Format: Four-ball in first and third rounds, Foursomes in second and fourth rounds

• Making their first starts in the Zurich Classic, Viktor Hovland and Kris Ventura open with a bogey-free 10-under 62

• Brice Garnett and Scott Stallings birdie eight of their last 11 holes to post 10-under 62

• Louisiana native Sam Burns and two-time Zurich Classic champion Billy Horschel birdie first four holes en route to a 63

• In bid for a third top-10 finish in the event together since 2017, Charley Hoffman and 2007 Zurich Classic winner Nick Watney open with 8-under 64

• Defending champions Jon Rahm and Ryan Palmer are T16 after a 7-under 65

• The Zurich Classic of New Orleans switched from individual stroke play to the two-man team format in 2017; is the only official FedExCup team event on the PGA TOUR

• Since becoming a team event, no first-round leaders/co-leaders have converted for the win at the Zurich Classic

Player Notes

Viktor Hovland/Kris Ventura (T1/-10)

• Both making their first start in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, the Norwegian natives combined for birdies on nine of their last 12 holes to open with a bogey-free 10-under 62

• Hovland and Ventura are the only Norway natives on the PGA TOUR and look to become the second international team to win the event (2017/Cameron Smith/Australia and Jonas Blixt/Sweden)

• Former Oklahoma State University teammates and members of the 2018 NCAA Championship winning team

• Hovland is the winner of the 2020 Puerto Rico Open and 2020 Mayakoba Golf Classic; earlier this season, posted three consecutive top-five finishes (Farmers Insurance Open/T2, The Genesis Invitational/T5, WGC-Workday Championship at The Concession/T2)

• Ventura has collected two top-10s on TOUR this season: T7/2020 Fortinet Championship (Napa, California), T6/2020 Sanderson Farms Championship

Brice Garnett/Scott Stallings (T1/-10)

• First time playing together, the team birdied eight of their last 11 holes to post a 10-under 62

• In 2018, Garnett finished T4 with Chesson Hadley; Stallings’ best finish in the team format years was a T13 with Trey Mullinax in 2019

• Garnett’s T4 in 2018 is his best effort in five previous Zurich Classic starts; in nine previous starts in the event, Stallings’ best showing was T11 in 2016

• Garnett seeks his third top-10 finish of the season (T5/Puerto Rico Open, T9/Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship) and second career PGA TOUR victory (2018/Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship)

• Stallings has one top-10 finish this season (T6/Sanderson Farms Championship); most recent of three career TOUR titles came at the 2014 Farmers Insurance Open

 Billy Horschel/Sam Burns (T3/-9)

• Team birdied their first four holes (Nos. 10-13) en route to a 9-under 63

• Horschel is the only player to win the Zurich Classic in both the individual (2013) and team format (with Scott Piercy in 2018)

• Horschel is making his 10th start in the Zurich Classic, while Burns is making his third (MC/2018 and 2019)

• Zurich ambassador and two-time Zurich Classic winner Horschel is playing for the first time in the event with Shreveport, Louisiana native and former LSU star Burns

• Horschel captured his sixth career PGA TOUR title earlier this season at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play; Burns recorded his career-best finish, solo-third, earlier this season at The Genesis Invitational

Miscellaneous Notes

• Paired together for the first time, Tony Finau (fifth appearance) and Cameron Champ (second appearance) birdied seven of their first 11 holes before opening with a 9-under 63; Finau seeks a second career TOUR title (2016 Puerto Rico Open), while Champ seeks his third (2018 Sanderson Farms Championship, 2019 Fortinet Championship)

• As a part of April’s National Black Golf Month, Cameron Champ was made an honorary citizen of New Orleans by Mayor LaToya Cantrell and the New Orleans Recreation Development (NORD) Commission this week

• Playing together for the first time, Brendan Steele and Keegan Bradley birdied five of their last eight holes to sit T3 at 9-under 63; both have competed each year since the event went to a team format in 2017, with Steele’s T10 finish in 2018 with Jamie Lovemark the lone top-10 finish between them

• Sebastian Cappelen and Mark Hubbard birdied four of their last six holes to open with 9-under 63; Cappelen, a Denmark native, is making his first start in the event, while Hubbard is making his fourth; in Hubbard’s only previous start since switching to the team format, finished 42nd in 2017 with Jonathan Randolph

• Playing in the event together for a fourth time, Charley Hoffman and Nick Watney opened with 8-under 64; previous finishes together: T5/2017, T31/2018, T9/2019; other teams who have competed together all four years: Kelly Kraft/Kevin Tway, Chez Reavie/Lucas Glover, Kevin Kisner/Scott Brown

• Defending champions Jon Rahm and Ryan Palmer are T16 after a 7-under 65; en route to winning in 2019, they were four off the 18-hole lead with an 8-under 64

• Playing on sponsor exemptions, Rocco Mediate (age 58) and Woody Austin (age 57) are T51 at 4-under 68

• Since 1990, 17 players have made the Zurich Classic their maiden victory on the PGA TOUR, including nine in the last 14 years; Cameron Smith (2017), Brian Stuard (2016), Seung-Yul Noh (2014), Billy Horschel (2013), Jason Dufner (2012), Andres Romero (2008), Nick Watney (2007), Chris Couch (2006) and Tim Petrovic (2005)

• Zurich Ambassadors (bold): Billy Horschel/Sam Burns (T3/-9), Justin Rose/Henrik Stenson (T16/-7), Collin Morikawa/Matthew Wolff (T70/-2

Scoring Averages:

Front 9                 Back 9                  Total                    Format

R1          33.150                  33.513                  66.663                  Four-ball