“I honestly could not be in a better place in my life, professionally, personally, all of it,” said Rory McIlroy after his Masters victory. But the feeling would have been better if the victory count was on the rise, similar to what fans expected. Well, then came the Zurich Classic after his recent green jacket achievement, and fans highly anticipated a similar feat. However, the performance saw a dip in comparison to the teams that started off with setting course low records. McIlroy and Shane Lowry, after two rounds, were placed at T16 and were far behind the contention for the title.
The duo then showcased a strong comeback to sit right close to the leaders after a round of 61. They carded 8 birdies and one eagle, achieving the score and raising the hopes for fans. But in the final round, with just two birdies, the expectation for defending the title was crushed, and they had to accept the loss to Andrew Novak and Ben Griffin.
After the loss, Lowry shared gratitude, saying, “I think we played all right, just today nothing really happened for us, and then after the delay we just went — everything that could go wrong did go wrong. I had a great week. I’m happy my man came here this week, and we had a great time, and it was fun.” Accepting the performance, Lowry, who earlier recorded a runner-up finish in 2025, has absorbed the loss and shared gratitude towards it.
On the other hand, McIlroy has shared his plan for the season. He said, “I’ve got to just take a little bit off time here. It’s nice to have a week off, and yeah, 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.”
The recent Grand Slam winner has earlier shared about his limited presence at the course. Even until now, he has only featured in 7 events, out of which in 3, he has claimed victory.
The post Rory McIlroy Seeks Breather as “Everything That Could Go Wrong” Goes Wrong During His $9.2M Title Defense With Shane Lowry appeared first on EssentiallySports.
