Rory Skips Zurich Classic

Rory McIlroy is not in this week’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans field, leaving defending 2024 champion Shane Lowry with a new partner at the PGA Tour’s team event. (golfchannel.com) Lowry will play with Brooks Koepka at TPC Louisiana from April 23-26, and the PGA Tour’s final field lists 80 teams for the only official FedExCup team event on the schedule. (pgatour.com) The format is split across four days: four-ball on Thursday and Saturday, foursomes — alternate shot — on Friday and Sunday. The purse is $9.5 million, and the winners get 400 FedExCup points. (golfchannel.com) (pgatour.com) McIlroy and Lowry won this event together in 2024, then finished tied for 12th in their title defense last year. This season’s field change breaks up one of the tournament’s most recognizable pairings. (si.com) The timing also fits a lighter spring stretch for McIlroy. He won the Masters on April 12, skipped the RBC Heritage the following week, and has not yet posted another start before the PGA Championship on his personal schedule page. (pgatour.com) (golfweek.usatoday.com) (rorymcilroy.com) The next PGA Tour stop after Zurich is the Cadillac Championship at Trump National Doral, scheduled for April 30 to May 3 in Miami. That date has fueled the immediate question around when McIlroy returns, but no start has been announced. (pgatour.com) Koepka’s presence adds another layer because he is back on the PGA Tour after leaving LIV Golf in December, and Zurich offers a regular-season chance to bank points and a two-year exemption for each winner. (si.com) So the tournament goes ahead without McIlroy, but not without a marquee replacement: Lowry and Koepka arrive as one of the week’s headline teams in a field built around pairs rather than individual stars. (golfchannel.com) (pgatour.com)