PEBBLE BEACH — Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry won the Zurich Classic of New Orleans together last year, shared beer and pizza expenses for the media on Thursday when each made a hole-in-one, and matched scorecards on Saturday at Pebble Beach Golf Links. The Irishmen seem to be moving in lockstep these days.

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Nothing new really.

Let’s not forget that two years ago in Rome, when McIlroy lost all composure following the second day of the Ryder Cup over the antics of U.S. caddie Joe LaCava, it was Lowry who physically restrained his teammate and shoved him into a courtesy car.

We’ll see if they tag team against another European Ryder Cup player, Austrian Sepp Straka, in Sunday’s final round of the $20 million A&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am after they emerged as the top contenders on a wet, windy and worrisome day on the Monterrey Peninsula.

“It is cool to see both of us up there near the top of the leaderboard,” said McIlroy, the World No. 3 making his season debut this week on the PGA Tour.

Thanks to birdies on four of his last five holes to close the third round, Straka somehow walked off Pebble with a two-under 70 and a one-stroke lead at 16-under 200. Meanwhile, McIlroy and Lowry posted sparkling 65s under dreary skies, with the former escaping with one of the two clean cards on the day. They trail by a shot.

Europe holds down four of the top six spots, in fact, after England’s Justin Rose, who won here just two years ago before it was converted to a signature event, shot 68 to come in at 202. He’s tied for fourth with Tom Kim of South Korea, who also had a 68.

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, also making his season debut, birdied two of his last three holes for a 69 and trails Straka by six shots. That’s not out of it, though he will need something special. A year ago, Wyndham Clark leapfrogged Ludvig Aberg on Saturday with a record 60 after starting six behind, and he was declared the champ when the final round was washed out.

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Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry celebrate their win in the 2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans.

Chris Graythen

Straka, winner of The American Express two weeks ago, might have retained his 36-hole lead, but a lot of focus on Sunday will be on Lowry and his friend from Northern Ireland.

Lowry, 28th in the world, couldn’t remember if he and McIlroy had ever played together in the final group on a Sunday, and he struggled to think of many showdowns between them. “He beat me, I remember, at Wentworth in 2014; I finished second to him. We went down the back nine there, and I got him back in 2022 around Wentworth as well. We haven’t really went head-to-head that much. He’s obviously there a lot more than I am. I’m happy to be there tomorrow.”

He’s also happy to spend the day with his longtime friend. But don’t read too much into that. “I think it’s important that we go out there and do our jobs tomorrow and try and enjoy it as best we can,” said Lowry, 37. “We’re not going out there to have a great time and just, you know, play a round. We’re going out there, we both have a job to do tomorrow. I’m sure at times we’ll have good fun, but when it gets down to the business end of things, I’m sure we’ll all be all business.”

With $3.6 million on the line, they’ll try to give each other (and Straka) the business.

“Tomorrow is going to be a big day for a lot of reasons, and Shane is up there as well, so it’s going to be a fun day with him out there,” McIlroy said. “But it’s exciting to go out and get my first win of the season.”

What’s rather ironic about the stellar performances of McIlroy and Lowry on Saturday is that they grew up playing in weather conditions similar to Saturday—an “authentic experience,” McIlroy said—but neither is particularly fond of such an inhospitable climatic afternoon.

“We don’t play in this weather that often anymore, but we did grow up in it,” said McIlroy, 35. “I would say Shane’s historically been a better bad weather player than I have been.”

Not anymore, said Lowry. “We play in this weather a few times a year, and everyone plays in the same conditions now,” he said. “If the weather’s like this … it was like this in Ireland when I was home at Christmas, and my golf clubs sat in my hall.”

The weather forecast Sunday looks more promising—drier and a bit warmer. Mcilroy and Lowry will likely enjoy a collegial day on the course. But the goal is the same for each—rain on the other’s parade.

“Yeah, let’s hope one of us does the business tomorrow,” Lowry said.

This article was originally published on golfdigest.com