Rory McIlroy told he 'could have had a couple extra hours in bed' after slow start at Zurich Classic

Rory McIlroy was told by team-mate Shane Lowry that he “could have had a couple extra hours in bed” after making a slow start in his first outing as Masters champion.

The defending champions opened with an eight-under-par 64 in the first-day fourballs in the $9.2 million Zurich Classic of New Orleans at TPC Louisiana.

Lowry made their four birdies on the outward half after starting at the tenth before McIlroy got in on the act by following a birdie at the first with an eagle at the par-5 second.

Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry interact during the first round of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans in Avondale, Louisiana | Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images

A birdie from Lowry at the fourth was followed by a dropped shot for the pair at par-4 sixth before McIlroy repaired that damage straight away.

“Yeah, Shane got off to a really good start. I didn't do anything,” admitted McIlroy afterwards. “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. 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.”

The effort left the Ryder Cup team-mates sitting six shots off the clubhouse lead after unheralded American duo Isaiah Salinda and Kevin Velo carded a stunning 58.

They were out in 26 after making an eagle and eight birdies before adding two more birdies to start the inward half and then making gains at the 13th and 16th as well.

It was the first time McIlroy was announced on the tee at the Masters champion after claiming the Green Jacket to become just the sixth player to complete a career grand slam.

“Yeah, I was glad they remembered The Players as well in there,” said the world No 2 of his second success in that event at TPC Sawgrass in the build up to his memorable week at Augusta National. “It seems like a distant memory at this point. Look, very nice. I could get used to it.

“Yeah, it was brilliant to see so many people out there on a Thursday morning. We had a great time playing in front of them last year. It was a great atmosphere, especially at the weekend.

“It's always nice to play in front of a supportive, enthusiastic crowd and looking forward to doing more of that over the next few days.”

The Hojgaard twins - Nicolai and Rasmus - started strongly by signing for a 59 while Russell Knox joined forces with Peter Malnati to card a 65.

Teaming up with Belgian Thomas Detry for the second year in a row, Bob MacIntyre was among the later starters, as were Martin Laird and Bill Haas.

Elsewhere, Gemma Dryburgh opened with a level-par 72 in The Chevron Championship, the opening women’s major of the season at The Woodlands in Texas.

The Scottish No 1 was on course to end the day in red figures before running up a double-bogey 7 at the par-5 eighth - her penultimate hole.

Meanwhile, Lowry, Ludvig Aberg and Tommy Fleetwood will be joining both McIlroy and defending champion Billy Horschel in the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth in September.