Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry beat Chad Ramey and Martin Trainer in a play-off to win on the PGA Tour at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans; McIlroy will be among the favourites for the PGA Championship next month, live on Sky Sports Golf
Tuesday 30 April 2024 14:18, UK
Rory McIlroy returned to the winner's circle when he teamed up with Shane Lowry at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, but could his latest PGA Tour success mark the start of bigger things to come this year?
McIlroy made a strong start to the year on the DP World Tour, following a runner-up finish at the Dubai Invitational with a successful title defence at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, only to make a slow start to his PGA Tour campaign prior to the victory at TPC Louisiana.
The Northern Irishman only finished higher than 19th once in his first eight PGA Tour starts this season, leaving him 44th in the FedExCup standings last week, before a dramatic play-off success alongside Lowry secured him a landmark 25th PGA Tour title.
McIlroy's win takes him to 15th in the FedExCup standings ahead of starts at the Wells Fargo Championship and the PGA Championship in May, both events he has previously won and live on Sky Sports, with former DP World Tour player Richard McEvoy believing his latest victory will give him added confidence.
"I think it [winning] could do him a massive favour," McEvoy told the Sky Sports Golf podcast. "He looked very relaxed, he looked like he was playing lovely [on Sunday]. It could do Rory some real good.
"Confidence-wise, it will be good for him to have been out there having fun and knowing you can play well having fun on a golf course and being relaxed and enjoying it. Sometimes you need those little kicks up the backside to work and click.
"It's seriously impressive to do something like that...to have the will to keep on competing and trying to win golf tournaments. Rory still has that in him to go and win tournaments and compete on a weekly basis. When he's not winning he's rarely outside the top 20, so he's there or thereabouts most weeks."
McIlroy fell short in his latest career Grand Slam bid at The Masters, ending the week tied-22nd as Scottie Scheffler claimed the Green Jacket for a second time in three years, with the world No 2 still without a major victory since his 2014 PGA Championship success.
This year's edition takes place at Valhalla, where McIlroy won that year, with Sky Sports' Richard Kaufman acknowledging that it will be challenging for him to take the relaxed attitude he had with Lowry into a busy major spell.
"He's having fun out there with Shane Lowry, but how do you take that into tournament golf?" Kaufman said. "The Masters, for example, there was so much pressure and talk and he's tried...every kind of strategy.
"Psychologically it must be so hard to say 'I'm going to have fun'. When you've got someone with you I can see that, he's obviously very comfortable with Shane [Lowry], but it's so hard to replicate that kind of feeling when you're playing regular tournament golf."
McEvoy and Kaufman joined regular host Josh Antmann to reflect on McIlroy and Lowry's win, plus look back at the ISPS Handa Championship and Hannah Green's impressive win on the LPGA Tour.
There's an extended debate about the ongoing discussions to unite the men's professional game and how things could look in the future, plus an extended interview with Englishman David Skinns on his strong start to the PGA Tour season.
The trio discuss some of their hidden gem golf courses across the UK and look ahead to the live action on Sky Sports Golf this week, including the Volvo China Open.
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