Masters champ Rory McIlroy returns with Shane Lowry at Zurich Classic

• Rory McIlroy returns to competition after winning the 2025 Masters and completing the career grand slam.
• McIlroy’s Masters victory resonated with people from various backgrounds due to his relatable decade-long struggle.
• Last year’s Zurich Classic win with Shane Lowry reignited McIlroy’s joy for golf and propelled his successful season.

AVONDALE, La. — The saying goes, “Heavy is the head that wears the crown,” but for Rory McIlroy, who is fresh off a career-defining win at Augusta National Golf Club two weeks ago, lighter are the shoulders that wear the green jacket.

McIlroy is returning to action for the first time since he won the 2025 Masters and became the sixth man to complete the career grand slam. The weight of his own expectations, and the expectations of the golf world, have been lifted.

The last time golf fans saw the 35-year-old Irishman, he was wearing that green jacket, holding a microphone and thanking his family, his team and everyone else who cheered for him while trying to maintain his composure. The scene was emotional and authentic, and his story resonated far beyond golf lovers.

“I spoke to two presidents the day after, which was pretty cool,” McIlroy said on Wednesday inside the clubhouse at TPC Louisiana. “Just people reaching out from all walks of life, whether it be sports, entertainment, culture. Just all of it. People that you would never even think would watch golf, or would know what’s going on, that was very, very humbling.”

At a time when so much of what people see and hear is produced for clicks and likes on social media, McIlroy said what he went through over the last 10 years was something most people could sympathize with and understand.

“I think people can see themselves in the struggle at times, and everything that you try to put into getting the best out of yourself in that journey,” he said. “I think people watching someone finally get it done, something they’ve been trying to do for a decade plus, I think it resonated with a lot of people.”

While there is an unwritten rule on the PGA Tour that players should always come back and defend their wins, given the significance of McIlroy’s achievement and how the Masters played out, even Lowry wondered whether the duo would be back at this year’s Zurich Classic.

“I said to my caddie on the 15th hole at Augusta — obviously I was done so I was watching the leaderboard — I think he’s probably just made double on 13, and I said to Darren (Reynolds), ‘No matter what happens the next few holes, I think we’re going to do well to get into New Orleans,’” Lowry joked Wednesday while sitting beside McIlroy. “If things didn’t go his way, I don’t think he’d want to be here, and I thought if things did go his way, he’d want to be somewhere else. But I’m happy he’s here.”

And here, in New Orleans at the Zurich Classic, is where a turning point occurred for both McIlroy and Lowry last season.

“This tournament last year, it was a really cool moment for both of us,” McIlroy said. “I think it probably injected a little bit of joy back into golf for me in some ways. I think is really, really important not to lose that.”

After winning a playoff over Chad Ramey and Martin Trainer at the 2024 Zurich Classic, McIlroy and Lowry, holding beers and wearing Mardi Gras beads around their necks, sang “Sweet Caroline” to an adoring crowd.

“I had a great year last year, and I think this tournament was sort of the catalyst to the really good golf that I played for the rest of the year,” McIlroy added.

For Lowry, this event and the win boosted his self-belief.

“Winning just breeds confidence,” Lowry said. “Obviously, as an individual, it’s much more confidence, but as a team — it certainly helped me last season. I felt like I kicked off after this tournament last season and played pretty well, and it certainly helped him since then, as well.”

So far this season, McIlroy has been as hot as the sauce locals pour over their gumbo, winning the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, the Players Championship and then the Masters. He has pocketed more than $13 million in prize money, statistically has been one of the 10 best putters in the game and leads the PGA Tour in scoring average.

But before McIlroy starts thinking about what he may serve next year as the host of the Champions Dinner at the 2026 Masters, there is work to be done and golf to be played. The next major, the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Golf Club in Charlotte, N.C., starts in 21 days, followed by the U.S. Open at Oakmont and then the British Open, which is returning in July to Royal Portrush, where Lowry won in 2019. McIlroy and Lowry are also expected to play big roles on the European Ryder Cup team when it takes on the United States at Bethpage Black in late September.

“I’m eager to get back out there, and I think this is the perfect atmosphere to do it in,” McIlroy said. “I think that’s a part of the reason that I wanted to honor the commitment to be here, because it’s a fun event to be out there with Shane. I also know that it’s not all on me; he has to do some of the work, too. Maybe a lot of it the next two days.”