Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry to return to defend PGA Tour title at Zurich Classic of New Orleans | Golf News

Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry have confirmed that they will return to defend their title at the PGA Tour’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans this April, live on Sky Sports.

McIlroy made his debut in the event alongside Lowry in last year’s contest, following a “drunken lunch” between the pair after Europe’s 2023 Ryder Cup success, with the impressing to claim a play-off victory over Chad Ramey and Martin Trainer.

The win marked McIlroy’s 25th PGA Tour victory and Lowry’s first win since his 2022 BMW PGA Championship on the DP World Tour, with the pair now returning for this year’s event at TPC Louisiana from April 24-27.

Victory of McIlroy last year was one of four worldwide titles in 2024, including the Wells Fargo Championship in his next start and two DP World Tour victories, while the world No 2 won his first appearance of the 2025 PGA Tour season at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

McIlroy finished two strokes clear of Lowry in California, who finished solo second, with the pair both making impressive starts to the PGA Tour season ahead of being likely Ryder Cup team-mates late this year at Bethpage Black.

“Rory and Shane seemed to truly enjoy their experience in New Orleans, and it showed in their play,” tournament director Steve Worthy. “Their history with team golf couldn’t have hurt, and we are excited to have them back in a Ryder Cup year.”

The Zurich Classic of New Orleans comes two weeks after The Masters, where McIlroy will aim to complete the career Grand Slam and Lowry chases a second major victory, and the week after the RBC Heritage at Hilton Head.

How does the event work and what is the format?

The 2024 event saw 80 two-man teams feature in fourballs during the opening round, where players each play their own ball and the best score on each hole from the pair goes towards the team total, then switched to foursomes play for the second round.

Foursomes sees each team use one ball, with one player hitting tee shots on all the odd-numbered holes and the other on the even-numbered ones. The players then hit alternate shots, with the total strokes taken resulting in the team’s score for that hole.

The top 33 teams and ties progressed to the weekend, where the teams revert to fourballs for the third round and foursomes for Sunday’s final round. The players in the winning team both receive a two-year winner’s exemption on the PGA Tour and the two-man teams share FedExCup points.

No team has won back-to-back editions of the tournament since it became a team event in 2017.

Can McIlroy and Lowry defend their title? Watch the PGA Tour’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans from April 24-27 live on Sky Sports. Not got Sky? Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract on NOW.