NEW ORLEANS – Rory McIlroy, winner of four worldwide tournaments in the 2024 season and one already in 2025, and Shane Lowry, who scored seven top-10 finishes in the 2024 season to go with his win in New Orleans, will defend their crown at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, announced Steve Worthy, CEO of the Fore!Kids Foundation, producer of the tournament.

Both have started the 2025 season on a high note, as McIlroy won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am by two strokes over his Zurich Classic partner Lowry, who finished a solo second.

They teamed to win the 2024 Zurich Classic on the first extra hole, rallying down the stretch to force a playoff with runners-up Chad Ramey and Martin Trainer. The win marked McIlroy’s 25th PGA TOUR victory and Lowry’s first win since his 2022 BMW PGA Championship on the DP World Tour.

“Rory and Shane seemed to truly enjoy their experience in New Orleans, and it showed in their play,” said Worthy. “Their history with team golf couldn’t have hurt, and we are excited to have them back in a Ryder Cup year."

McIlroy posted a season in 2024 that would be considered career-best by most players. He won twice on the PGA TOUR and twice on the DP World Tour, including the season-ending DP World Championship, his third victory in that tournament. In addition to his victories last year, he also finished second four times and took his sixth DP World Tour Order of Merit.

He also posted seven top-10 finishes on the PGA TOUR and eight on the DP World Tour. He finished tied for fifth in the 2024 Olympic Men's Golf Competition in Paris.

Lowry himself enjoyed one of his best years on the PGA TOUR in 2024. In addition to his Zurich Classic victory, he posted six top-10 finishes on the PGA TOUR, including a solo sixth in the PGA Championship and a tie for sixth in The Open Championship. He also posted three top-10 finishes on the DP World Tour last year, including a tie for third in the DP World Championship that McIlroy won.

McIlroy has carved out a remarkable career since joining the PGA TOUR in 2010. He has won 27 times on the PGA TOUR and 11 times on the DP World Tour. His record glitters with titles in the most prestigious tournaments around the world. He has won both the TOUR Championship and the DP World Championship three times, The Open Championship twice, and once each in the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and THE PLAYERS Championship.

McIlroy has 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 Country Club outside Rome, Italy. He is currently ranked third in the world and was ranked first in the world for 122 weeks starting in 2015.

Shane Lowry, currently ranked 19th in the world, won The Open Championship in 2019 at Royal Portrush in his native Ireland, firing a course-record 63 in the third round to win by six shots over Tommy Fleetwood. He has won six other titles, four on the DP World Tour and the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in 2015 that earned him his PGA TOUR card.

In addition to his title in The Open Championship, Lowry has posted a tie for third in the Masters, a tie for fourth in the PGA Championship and a tie for second in the 2016 U.S. Open, where he also finished ninth the following year.

Lowry has played for Europe on the last two Ryder Cup teams. He also made the World Cup team three times and played for Ireland in the Eisenhower Trophy in 2008. He represented Ireland in the 2020 and 2024 Olympic Games.