Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry have confirmed that they’ll return to defend their title on the PGA Tour’s Zurich Basic of New Orleans this April, reside on Sky Sports activities.
McIlroy made his debut within the occasion alongside Lowry in final 12 months’s contest, following a “drunken lunch” between the pair after Europe’s 2023 Ryder Cup success, with the impressing to say a play-off victory over Chad Ramey and Martin Coach.
The win marked McIlroy’s twenty fifth 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 12 months’s occasion at TPC Louisiana from April 24-27.
Victory of McIlroy final 12 months was one in every of 4 worldwide titles in 2024, together with the Wells Fargo Championship in his subsequent begin and two DP World Tour victories, whereas the world No 2 received his first look of the 2025 PGA Tour season on the AT&T Pebble Seashore Professional-Am.
McIlroy completed two strokes away from Lowry in California, who completed solo second, with the pair each making spectacular begins to the PGA Tour season forward of being probably Ryder Cup team-mates late this 12 months at Bethpage Black.
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“Rory and Shane appeared to actually take pleasure in their expertise in New Orleans, and it confirmed of their play,” match director Steve Worthy. “Their historical past with crew golf could not have damage, and we’re excited to have them again in a Ryder Cup 12 months.”
The Zurich Basic of New Orleans comes two weeks after The Masters, the place McIlroy will purpose to finish the profession Grand Slam and Lowry chases a second main victory, and the week after the RBC Heritage at Hilton Head.
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Have a look again at the perfect of Rory McIlroy’s 4 worldwide wins in 2024 – the Hero Dubai Desert Basic, the Zurich Basic of New Orleans, the Wells Fargo Championship and the DP World Tour Championship
How does the occasion work and what’s the format?
The 2024 occasion noticed 80 two-man groups characteristic in fourballs throughout the opening spherical, the place gamers every play their very own ball and the perfect rating on every gap from the pair goes in the direction of the crew whole, then switched to foursomes play for the second spherical.
Foursomes sees every crew use one ball, with one participant hitting tee photographs on all of the odd-numbered holes and the opposite on the even-numbered ones. The gamers then hit alternate photographs, with the whole strokes taken ensuing within the crew’s rating for that gap.
The highest 33 groups and ties progressed to the weekend, the place the groups revert to fourballs for the third spherical and foursomes for Sunday’s last spherical. The gamers within the successful crew each obtain a two-year winner’s exemption on the PGA Tour and the two-man groups share FedExCup factors.
No crew has received back-to-back editions of the match because it grew to become a crew occasion in 2017.
Can McIlroy and Lowry defend their title? Watch the PGA Tour’s Zurich Basic of New Orleans from April 24-27 reside on Sky Sports activities. Not received Sky? Get Sky Sports activities or stream with no contract on NOW.
