Masters champ Rory McIlroy agreed to play golf tournament after 'drunken lunch'

It's often that a "drunken lunch" ends up costing more than it's worth, but for and Shane Lowry, it actually earned them a healthy payday. The duo have been good friends for some time and both compete for Team Europe at the , but it was a boozy meal that sparked the idea for one of their best collective successes.

Only once each year do players on the get the chance to compete in a team event. It comes at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, which McIlroy and Lowry will return for later this month as reigning champions.

But if it wasn't for their cheeky tipple over a spot of lunch in 2023, the Irish duo might not have been involved at all. Recalling the time he asked Lowry to partner him in the tournament, McIlroy told : "I asked him [to play]. You know it was actually, we had this really drunken lunch after the Ryder Cup last year, and I said after, 'You wanna play the Zurich together?' And we were like, yeah, let's do it."

It was the first time McIlroy competed in the event, but it proved worthwhile, as he and Lowry topped the leaderboard at TPC Louisiana. As well as earning another PGA Tour title, McIlroy and Lowry also pocketed a handsome £970,000 for their win in New Orleans.

McIlroy, along with partner Lowry, are expected to return to the tournament this weekend to defend their crown. since he was confirmed as the Masters winner last week, with Lowry saying: "We'll be there. I talked to him [Wednesday] morning.

"We're good to go. To be honest, I didn't want him to feel like he had to play because of me. He's not letting me down if he wanted to take some time. He feels like he wants to get back out there. He feels like next week is a good week to do it. So, yeah, we'll be there."

McIlroy had returned home following his epic win at Augusta National, which saw him opt out of competing at this weekend's RBC Heritage, despite a cash prize of £2.7million being on offer. Instead, the 35-year-old will return to the States this week ahead of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, which gets underway on Thursday.