Rory McIlroy Makes Decision After Disappointing Showing at Zurich Classic

Over the weekend Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry entered the Zurich Classic as the clear favorites to defend their title from last year. Just two weeks removed from his first Masters win, McIlroy made it clear he wanted a chance to do just that.

“Look, I mean after the last couple of weeks and what happened at Augusta, I think coming here…you know Shane asked me right after the Masters whether I still wanted to play here this week and I said, ‘absolutely.’ It’s such a perfect way to sort of, you know, get back into the swing of things.”

“Being here with my man and trying to defend a title is pretty cool. But yeah, no, we have a lot of fun out there and obviously that was a great way to finish,” he said of the duo’s third round.

Following that third round the Irish superstars sat just five shots off the lead entering the final round on April 27. After carding a 2-under, 34 on the front nine, the duo was just three shots back with nine holes to play.

It all came undone on the back nine, though, as Lowry and McIlroy finished the round 2-over on the back to card an even-par, 72 and finish six shots back. After falling short in the Zurich Classic, McIlroy admitted it was time for a break.

“I’ve got to just take a little bit of time here,” McIlroy said after the Zurich Classic. “It’s nice to have a week off, and reset and try to get some practice in. I feel like it’s like two practice weeks coming up in a way, with next week at home and then Truist, as well, in some ways. Yeah, I’m looking forward to a couple of days off and then sort of kicking the feet up and trying to recharge the batteries a little bit.”

McIlroy will take the week off before defending his title in the Truist Championship at the Philadelphia Cricket Club (Wissahickon Course)