Rory McIlroy will make his debut at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans next month.
Four-time major winner McIlroy will team up with fellow Irishman Shane Lowry, who himself added a major title to his playing resume when he won The Open Championship in 2019.
“Both of these players have competed for Europe in Ryder Cup competition, so they are very accustomed to team play,” said Steve Worthy, chief executive of the Fore!Kids Foundation, which runs the tournament.
“It’s always fun to see close friends partner in our unique format, and with their experience they will be both fan and on-course favourites.”
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Jamie Spence tells the Sky Sports Golf Podcast that he thinks McIlroy needs a change to improve his form and become more consistent
McIlroy, who joined the PGA Tour in 2010, has made the cut in 213 out of 243 tournaments he has entered.
He has won 24 times on the PGA Tour and 17 times on the DP World Tour, with three FedExCup titles, the DP World Championship twice, The Open Championship twice, and once each in the US Open, the PGA Championship and The Players Championship.
Although he is still seeking his first Masters to become only the sixth player in history to complete the Grand Slam, he has finished in the top 10 at Augusta seven times in the last 10 years and will head to the Zurich Classic off the back of the 2024 Masters, which is exclusively on Sky Sports.
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McIlroy says he has a lot of work to do after another ‘volatile’ week, but insists he’ll be ready to go next month for The Masters
Mcilroy has also played on every European Ryder Cup team since 2010, with an overall record of 16-13-4. In the 2023 competition, he went 4-1 at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club outside Rome.
In addition to his title in The Open Championship, Lowry has posted a tie for third in the Masters, three top 10s in the PGA Championship and a tie for second in the 2016 US Open, where he also finished ninth the previous year.
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Lowry says he’s excited heading into the first of golf’s majors, The Masters next month
He has played the Zurich Classic four times in his career, most recently finishing 13th when teamed with Ian Poulter in 2022.
Lowry has played on the latest two Ryder Cup teams for Europe and he also made the World Cup team three times and played for Ireland in the Eisenhower Trophy in 2008.
This season he tied for fourth in the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches and finished third in the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
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Playing partners Lowry and Denny McCarthy were so close to hitting back-to-back aces on the TPC Sawgrass 17th hole
The Zurich Classic is the only team tournament on the PGA Tour season, the tournament launching back in 2017.
The purse for 2024 totals a record $8.9m [£7m], with each member of the winning team earning $1,286,050 [£1m] and 400 FedExCup points
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Sky Sports Golf presents ‘Europe! Europe!’ – a new documentary documenting Europe’s success at the 2023 Solheim and Ryder Cup tournaments
Watch The Masters live from April 11-14 exclusively on Sky Sports before the Zurich Classic of New Orleans from April 25. Stream the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, majors and more with NOW.
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