Rory McIlroy To Make First Competitive Start Following Masters Victory

Rory McIlroy will make his return to competitive golf at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, with the recently crowned Masters winner teeing it up alongside his good friend, Shane Lowry.

The duo are the defending champions of the event, which they claimed via a playoff at TPC Louisiana just 12 months ago.

Speaking to media at the RBC Heritage, Lowry stated: “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.”

Back in February, it was revealed that the duo would be playing the Zurich Classic of New Orleans but, following McIlroy's victory at The Masters, which also secured him the career Grand Slam, there had been questions as to whether the five-time Major winner would return to New Orleans.

However, after McIlroy skipped the RBC Heritage and returned to Northern Ireland to see family and friends, it has been confirmed he will partner up with Lowry, with the tournament getting underway on the 24th April.

Format-wise, the tournament works using both Four-balls and Foursomes. The first and third rounds will be Four-balls, while the second and final rounds will be Foursomes.

In terms of the field, Wyndham Clark and Taylor Moore pair up together, while Collin Morikawa and Kurt Kitayama are among the other highlighted groups.

There will also be a family affair in terms of Matt and Alex Fitzpatrick teeing it up once again, while Yannik and Jeremy Paul and twins Nicolai and Rasmus Hojgaard will be present at the event for a second time.

Zurich Classic Of New Orleans Field And Pairings

• Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry
• Collin Morikawa and Kurt Kitayama
• Billy Horschel and Tom Hoge
• Robert MacIntyre and Thomas Detry
• Will Zalatoris and Nick Dunlap
• Nicolai Hojgaard and Rasmus Hojgaard
• Matt Fitzpatrick and Alex Fitzpatrick
• Wyndham Clark and Taylor Moore
• Zach Johnson and Ryan Palmer
• Charley Hoffman and Nick Watney
• Kevin Kisner and Greyson Sigg
• Brandt Snedeker and Chez Reavie
• Sahith Theegala and Aaron Rai
• Sepp Straka and Brice Garnett
• Akshay Bhatia and Carson Young
• Gary Woodland and Lee Hodges
• Adam Svensson and Cam Davis
• Nico Echavarria and Max Greyserman
• Quade Cummins and Chris Gotterup
• Nick Hardy and Davis Riley
• Joe Highsmith and Alejandro Tosti
• Si Woo Kim and Sangmoon Bae
• Patton Kizzire and Ben Kohles
• Frankie Capan III and Jake Knapp
• Henrik Norlander and Luke List
• Russell Knox and Peter Malnati
• Matt McCarty and Mason Andersen
• Matthieu Pavon and Victor Perez
• J.T. Poston and Keith Mitchell
• Aaron Rai and Sahith Theegala
• Adam Hadwin and Nick Taylor
• Erik van Rooyen and Christiaan Bezuidenhout
• Jhonattan Vegas and Kevin Yu
• Michael Thorbjornsen and Karl Vilips
• Camilo Villegas and Luke Donald
• Matt Wallace and Thorbjørn Olesen
• Greyson Sigg and Kevin Kisner
• Zach Johnson and Kevin Kisner
• Brandt Snedeker and Chez Reavie
• Troy Merritt and Robert Streb
• Chesson Hadley and Jonathan Byrd
• Yannik Paul and Jeremy Paul
• Eric Cole and Sam Saunders
• Ben Taylor and David Skinns
• Jordan Smith and Laurie Canter
• Adam Schenk and Tyler Duncan
• Ben Griffin and Andrew Novak
• Mark Hubbard and Ryan Brehm
• Beau Hossler and Andrew Putnam
• Justin Lower and Chad Ramey
• Doug Ghim and Chan Kim
• Patrick Fishburn and Zac Blair
• Sam Stevens and Max McGreevy
• Rico Hoey and Sam Ryder
• Charley Hoffman and Nick Watney
• Ryo Hisatsune and Takumi Kanaya
• Chandler Phillips and Jacob Bridgeman
• David Lipsky and Dylan Wu
• Vince Whaley and Anders Albertson
• Mac Meissner and Noah Goodwin
• Ben Silverman and Sami Valimaki
• Nate Lashley and Hayden Springer
• Garrick Higgo and Ryan Fox
• Joseph Bramlett and Alex Smalley
• Joel Dahmen and Harry Hall
• Bud Cauley and Kevin Tway
• Trey Mullinax and Robby Shelton
• Will Gordon and Matthew Riedel
• Ryan Gerard and Danny Walker
• Isaiah Salinda and Kevin Velo
• Kris Ventura and Antoine Rozner
• Jesper Svensson and Niklas Norgaard
• Steven Fisk and Tim Widing
• Kevin Roy and Trevor Cone
• Lanto Griffin and Cameron Champ
• Ricky Castillo and William Mouw
• Jackson Suber and Pierceson Coody
• Will Chandler and Matt NeSmith
• Paul Peterson and Thomas Rosenmueller
• Matteo Manassero and Cristobal Del Solar
• John Pak and Taylor Montgomery
• Kaito Onishi and Rikuya Hoshino
• Taylor Dickson and Trace Crowe
• Hayden Buckley and Braden Thornberry
• Martin Laird and Bill Haas