Alongside his 2023 Ryder Cup teammate Shane Lowry, PGA Tour star Rory McIlroy will make his debut at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.
The Zurich Classic of New Orleans will mark the debut of world number two Rory McIlroy later this month.
McIlroy will be participating in the team-based PGA Tour event for the first time.
Naturally, McIlroy will compete in the competition with Shane Lowry, his 2023 European Ryder Cup teammate.
To aid in his attempt to ultimately break his lengthy drought, McIlroy has made no secret of his wish to compete in additional professional golf competitions in 2024.
The Zurich Classic of New Orleans is scheduled for April 25–28, which is two weeks after the Ulsterman’s Masters victory attempt.
McIlroy will compete in the Valero Texas Open one week prior to trying to win the grand slam at Augusta National, per his official website.
Since 2017, the Zurich Classic of New Orleans has been contested by two men on the PGA Tour.
The reigning champions, Nick Hardy and Davis Riley, defeated Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay in the previous year’s final.
The announcement of McIlroy’s inclusion will give the tournament’s organizers a positive boost.
The players are highly accustomed to working as a team because they have both represented Europe in Ryder Cup competition, according to Steve Worthy, chief executive of the organization that organizes the event.
“Seeing close friends team up in our special format is always enjoyable, and with their background, they will be fan and on-course favorites.”
It is also unknown as of this writing if McIlroy will play in the RBC Heritage at Harbour Town Golf Links on April 18–21.
McIlroy entered the race last year but pulled out following his appalling performance at the Masters in 2023.
McIlroy apparently lost out on 25% of his 2023 player impact program bonus (PIP) as a result of his decision, which proved to be costly.
In order to receive their full PIP bonus last year, PGA Tour players could only miss one of the elevated events.
According to reports, McIlroy lost out on $3,000,000 in PIP money last January when he decided not to participate in the Sentry Tournament of Champions.
Whether McIlroy was ever formally docked the money is unknown. Later, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan stated that he had the authority to decide on such issues.
In other news involving McIlroy, the format, rules, and launch date of TGL have all been confirmed.
TGL’s January launch date was postponed a year due to storm damage sustained by its Florida facility.
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