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Fresh off his first ever Masters win, Rory McIlroy took part in the Zurich Classic last week with his close friend and golfer Shane Lowry. The duo had entered the field as the defending champions.
Golf insiders, Rex and Lav, discussed McIlroy's participation in the Zurich Classic in Golf Channel's latest YouTube video. They mentioned that the Northern Irishman wanted to "lock in and be clear" after his Masters win two weeks back.
Shane Lowry reportedly told Mcllroy that he wasn't obligated to participate in last week's team event if he didn't want to. According to the golf insiders, McIlroy showed up at TPC Lousiana last week primarily for his buddy. Analyst Rex Hoggard said:
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"It gives you an idea of how close he is with Shane. Gives you an idea of how much they enjoyed winning this event last year. And so he tried as best as he possibly could to lock in keep in mind he flew home to London and then Northern Ireland following the Masters." (9:46 - 9:58)
They further discussed that McIlroy had been ill a few days before the Zurich Classic commenced. He and Lowry had a lacklustre outing at the tournament this year, finishing T12 with a total score of 22-under.
The analysts discussed why they thought the duo couldn't perform as well as they had the year before, when they had won.
"He woke up Monday morning with a cold and could barely get out of bed. He struggled with that all week long, so it was kind of an avalanche of things that sort of held them back they never clearly had their best game," (9:58 - 10:09)
Despite the underwhelming finish at the Zurich Classic, Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry appeared to have "a lightness to them" according to the golf insiders.
"When they finished up today both Shane and Rory that there was a lightness to them I think they felt an obligation to get through this week to do the right thing for each other and to do the right thing for the tournament." (10:15 - 10:21)
How did Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry perform in the Zurich Classic?
Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry had a fantastic start to their campaign at the Zurich Classic on Thursday. The pair hit one eagle, seven birdies and one bogey in their opening round in the fourball to score 64.
In the second round, the duo recorded one eagle, five birdies and three bogeys to score 69 in the foursomes. Once again playing in the fourball format for the third round, McIlroy and Lowry posted two eagles, seven birdies and one bogey to close the day at 61.
Unfortunately, they couldn't keep up the great run in the final round as they posted three birdies and three bogeys to finish even par on Sunday. They eventually placed T12 with a score of 22-under. Andrew Novak and Ben Griffin took home the title.
In the latest Golf Channel YouTube video, Rex and Lav discussed that Rory McIlroy will now be looking forward to the PGA Championship in May. Reportedly, he will be viewing the Truist Championship as a practice for the second Major of the season.
