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Official: Rory McIlroy makes big PGA Tour commitment

Pga tour star rory mcilroy will make his debut at the zurich classic of new orleans alongside his 2023 ryder cup teammate shane lowry..

World number two Rory McIlroy will make his debut at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans later this month. 

It will be the first time McIlroy has played in the team-based PGA Tour event. 

Unsurprisingly, McIlroy will take part in the tournament alongside his 2023 European Ryder Cup teammate Shane Lowry . 

McIlroy has made no secret of his desire to play more professional golf tournaments in 2024 to help in his bid to finally end his major drought. 

• Report: What was said at PGA Tour's Bahamas meeting with LIV Golf mastermind
• Crazy graphic shows how Scottie Scheffler's caddie is out-earning Rory McIlroy

According to his official website, McIlroy will also play in the Valero Texas Open a week before attempting to win the grand slam at Augusta National. 

The Zurich Classic of New Orleans has been a two-man PGA Tour event since 2017. 

Nick Hardy and Davis Riley are the defending champions whilst Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay won the year prior. 

The news of McIlroy's addition will be a welcome boost for tournament organisers. 

"It's always fun to see close friends partner in our unique format, and with their experience they will be both fan and on-course favourites."

At the time of writing, it is also unclear whether McIlroy will tee it up at the RBC Heritage at Harbour Town Golf Links over 18-21 April. 

McIlroy was in the field last year but withdrew after his horrific showing at the 2023 Masters. 

The decision was a costly one for McIlroy as it meant he reportedly missed out on 25 per cent of his 2023 player impact program bonus [PIP] bonus. 

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PGA Tour players were only allowed to miss one of the elevated events to be eligible for the entirety of their PIP bonus last year. 

McIlroy chose not to play Sentry Tournament of Champions last January and therefore his decision reportedly cost him $3,000,000 in PIP money. 

It is unclear if McIlroy was ever officially docked the money. PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan later said he had discretion over such matters.

In other McIlroy news, the rules, format and launch date of TGL has finally been confirmed . 

• Rory McIlroy implored to make a huge change before 2024 Masters
• Rory McIlroy believes Greg Norman has done Saudi PIF governor "a disservice"

04-07 April 2024

Valero texas open, 11-14 april 2024, masters tournament, 25-28 april 2024, zurich classic of new orleans.

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Rory McIlroy has been giving more thought to his future—both on and off the course

Ross Kinnaird

DUBAI — The old saying has it that you can never go home. But not only is former Dubai resident Rory McIlroy bucking that trend this week through his participation in the DP World Tour Championship, the Northern Irishman intends to repeat the feat (sort of) eight years from now. He isn’t returning to his childhood home in Northern Ireland, but the plan is to make his way back to another part of the United Kingdom.

Rightly or wrongly, at the age of 34, McIlroy feels he has just under a decade or so left at the top of the game. In preparation for a possibly diminished role, the four-time major champion and wife Erica have purchased a house “in the London area” that will be the family’s primary base thereafter. Not coincidentally, daughter Poppy will at that time be transitioning from middle school to high school.

All of which is for a still relatively distant future. More immediately, McIlroy is more focused on the climax to the DP World Tour season over the Earth course at the Jumeirah Golf Estates. Not that he has to worry about topping the Race to Dubai standings for a fifth time. That task is already taken care of, courtesy of McIlroy’s 2082.53 point lead over second-placed Jon Rahm. The winner this week will earn just 2,000 points.

“I probably would have liked to have done it [winning] another way,” McIlroy said on Tuesday during a pre-tournament press conference. “But I've played well when I've came back over to the European Tour this year. I won two Rolex Series events [the Dubai Desert Classic and the Scottish Open] and had some other really high finishes in tournaments that give a lot of points. So it’s really nice to have my name on the Harry Vardon Trophy for the fifth time and be just one behind Seve [Ballesteros] and still a few [three] behind Monty [Colin Montgomerie].”

McIlroy appreciated that the two mentioned are among the greats of European golf. “To be up alongside them is really something. If someone had told 18-year-old Rory when I was making my professional debut in 2007 that I would have won five Order of Merits up to this point, I wouldn't have believed them. It shows the consistency that I've played with over the last few years. Even though I don't feel like I've had a great year, I can still go ahead and achieve things like this.”

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Indeed, asked to rate his play over the last 11 months, McIlroy gave himself “seven out of 10,” his one big regret not winning the U.S. Open at the Los Angeles Country Club.

“I had the two wins and my best-ever Ryder Cup, which feels like a win to me, especially coming off the back of Whistling Straits,” McIlroy said. “So I've been happy with the year. I'll rue that miss at L.A. I had a great opportunity to pick up another major and I didn't. But I'm not going to let that take away from the fact that it's been another really consistent, solid year with some really good performances. My game is in as good a shape as it’s ever been throughout my career.”

Inevitably given McIlroy’s high-profile involvement in, well, just about every aspect of professional golf these days, the conversation soon moved on to other matters. Specifically, he was questioned on where the behind-the-scenes talking between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, LIV Golf in the shape of the Saudi Public Investment Fund and various other cash-rich financial organizations in the U.S. is headed. And he wasn’t giving much away, other than his hope that some of the money flooding into the game could be used for good causes.

“The professional game has never been stronger or healthier or from a financial standpoint, there's never been a better time to be a professional golfer,” he said. “But that's five percent of what golf is. It's the golf that amateurs play; it's the golf that my dad plays. It's not just about us. It's about the overall health of the game. We are all talking about this investment coming into the top level of golf, but I think it also needs to go into the R&A and the USGA and for them to try to increase participation.”

So does he expect clarity any time soon?

“I wouldn't think so,” McIlroy said. “If you were in the middle of it, you would see that there's a path forward. It's just that no one on the outside has any details. Loose lips sink ships, so we are trying to keep it tight and within walls. I'm sure when there's news to tell, it will be told. But getting something done sooner rather than later is a good thing. Even if we get a deal done, it doesn't mean that it's actually going to happen. That's up to the United States government and whether the Department of Justice think that it's the right thing to do. So it wouldn’t be a sure thing.”

Ah, but McIlroy wasn’t done. Specifics were required. And, as it turns out, the need for drastic change to the structure of professional golf is clear in his mind.

“If we can create a perfect golf calendar, what would it look like? And I don't think it would look like it looks right now,” McIlroy said. “I think there would be changes made. Look at what Max Homa and Justin Thomas did last week, going down to South Africa. They had a really good time. They played in a different part of the world where they had never played before. If more of that sort of stuff could happen, I think it would be really good for golf.”

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Still, it wasn’t all about change. McIlroy is in favor of a nod to the past in the shape of revitalized national Opens around the globe. In his time as a professional, he has won the Irish Open, the Scottish Open, the Canadian Open, the Australian Open, as well as the U.S. Open and the Open Championship.

“Those events have some great history in our game and a lot of tradition,” he said. “They are probably some of my most prized possessions in my trophy case. You look at the names on the trophies and that's what golf is about. It's being able to try to compare yourself to previous generations. To me, that's what being a professional golfer and being competitive is all about is being able to go and win all over the world.”

Starting this week in the United Arab Emirates. His second home. Or maybe his third.

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World #2 player will make Zurich Classic debut

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Rory McIlroy, 24-time PGA TOUR winner including four major titles and currently ranked second in the world, will make his debut at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans this year, announced Steve Worthy, CEO of the Fore!Kids Foundation, producer of the tournament.

McIlroy will team with fellow Irishman Shane Lowry, who himself added a major title to his playing resume when he won The Open Championship in 2019 in his native country.

“Both of these players have competed for Europe in Ryder Cup competition, so they are very accustomed to team play ,” said Worthy. “It’s always fun to see close friends partner in our unique format, and with their experience they will be both fan and on-course favorites,” Worthy added.

McIlroy, who joined the PGA TOUR in 2010, has carved out a remarkable career, making the cut in 213 out of 243 tournaments he has entered. He has won 24 times on the PGA TOUR and 17 times on the DP World Tour.

His record glitters with titles in the most prestigious tournaments around the world. He has three FedExCup titles; the DP World Championship twice; The Open Championship twice; and once each in the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and THE PLAYERS Championship.

Although he is still seeking his first Masters championship to become only the sixth player in history to complete the Grand Slam, he has finished in the top 10 at Augusta seven times in the last 10 years.

He was named PGA TOUR Player of the Year three times, DP World Tour Player of the Year three times, won the Byron Nelson Award four times, the Vardon Trophy four times, and the Mark McCormick Award three times.

He 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 Golf & Country Club outside Rome, Italy.

McIlroy turned professional at age 17, after declining a golf scholarship at East Tennessee State University when he was only 15. His first win on the DP World Tour came when he was 19 in 2009 and his first victory on the PGA TOUR came just a year later in 2010. At 22, he became the youngest player ever to reach €10 million in career earnings on the DP World Tour. In 2012 , he became the youngest player to reach $10 million in career earnings on the PGA TOUR.

He is currently ranked second in the world and has been ranked first in the world for 95 weeks starting in 2015.

Shane Lowry 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 five 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, three top-10s in the PGA Championship and a tie for second in the 2016 U.S. Open, where he also finished ninth the previous year.

He has played the Zurich Classic four times in his career, most recently finishing 13 th teamed with Ian Poulter in 2022.

Lowry has played on the latest two Ryder Cup teams for Europe. He also made the World Cup team three times and played for Ireland in the Eisenhower Trophy in 2008.

He has played only five times in the U.S. in 2024. This season he tied for fourth in the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches and finished third in the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard.

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More Free DLC Now Available for Rory McIlroy PGA Tour

The East Lake Golf Club arrives today in the pro golf game alongside a new patch.

By Eddie Makuch on October 17, 2015 at 4:41AM PDT

As promised, EA Sports is releasing more free DLC for its new pro golf game, Rory McIlroy PGA Tour . Available now on PS4 and Xbox One is Atlanta's East Lake golf course, the site of this weekend's real-world Tour Championship and the culmination of the FedEx Cup. The course is playable across all game modes.

East Lake comes to Rory McIlroy PGA Tour today as part of a wider update that makes tweaks and changes to general gameplay, as well as the game's online mode and Night Club Challenges, among other things. The full patch notes are available below the video.

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Rory McIlroy PGA Tour launched in July with just eight courses , but the first of the game's free DLC, the TPC Scottsdale course , was released in August. More free expansions are coming later.

GameSpot's Rory McIlory PGA Tour review scored it a 4/10. Critic Josiah Renaudin called it a "swing and a miss."

Rory McIlroy PGA Tour September 23 Patch Notes:

• Improved bounce and roll physics on all courses.
• Improved flop shot.
• Addressed issue where ball would roll through the pin instead of colliding with it.
• Addressed issue with cup lip outs near edge of cup on slower green conditions.
• Addressed issue that would make pin move to a different location between shots.
• Addressed shot type switching to custom when aiming left or right.
• Addressed grass divots showing up when a putter was used off the green.
• Addressed various Matchmaking stability issues.
• Addressed various invite stability issues.
• Addressed issues where opponents were not visible in Online H2H games.
• Addressed issue where golfer would disappear during the post shot animation in Online H2H games.
• Addressed an issue where the hole count on a score submission for an online tournament would sometimes become corrupt and enter the score with bad data.
• Addressed an issue with settings changes made inside of an unranked session would not get synced to all users in the session before the session is started by the host.
• Addressed issue where user would be loaded into an Online H2H game that was already in progress.
• Addressed issue where users would load into a beauty cam of Chambers Bay with gameplay in background instead of an actual Online H2H session.
• Addressed HUD showing E as scores for the host when a user quits and Online H2H game.
• Addressed issue with stats not tracking properly after a user quits an Online H2H game.
• Addressed issue that caused user to be returned to main menu after completing an Online Tournament.

NIGHT CLUB CHALLENGE

• Made tuning changes to several Night Club challenges.
• Added notification pop ups to Night Club challenge when equipment or apparel is unlocked via the mode.
• Addressed long loading times in Night Club challenge golfer select.
• Addressed stars not tracking properly sometimes in boost menu screen of Night Club Challenge.
• Updated attributes of licensed golfers based on real world performance.
• Addressed various audio issues.
• Addressed some popping issues of golfers, wildlife, crowd, structures and vegetation in beauty and intro cameras.
• Addressed hair clipping through hats on some created golfer heads and hairstyles.
• Addressed an issue where VoIP would be heard when it shouldn’t be.
• Addressed issue with putting mishit on Classic Gameplay Style.
• Addressed issue with Gameplay Styles being used on guest accounts.

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Rory McIlroy’s ‘drunken lunch’ with Shane Lowry leads to new Zurich team

Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry will partner at the 2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans, which will be McIlroy's debut in the team event.

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Rory McIlroy has a new event on his schedule for 2024, and Shane Lowry will join him. The European Ryder Cup stalwarts will compete as teammates in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans at TPC Louisiana in Avondale, La., on April 25-28.

And apparently, it all started with a boozy lunch.

“I asked him [to play],” McIlroy told GOLF.com on Monday. “You know it was actually, we had this really drunken lunch after the Ryder Cup last year, and I said after, ‘You wanna play the Zurich together?’ And we were like, yeah, let’s do it.”

This will be McIlroy’s debut at the Zurich Classic, which has been a two-person team event since 2017. Lowry has played in the Zurich four times. He’s missed the cut twice (once when it was individual stroke play) and has finished T28 and 13th. Lowry played with Padraig Harrington, who is now on the PGA Tour Champions, in 2018 and 2019, and he was with Ian Poulter, who is now at LIV Golf, in 2022.

It all started with a "really drunken lunch." Rory McIlroy tells @kclairerogers how he and Shane Lowry teamed up for the Zurich. pic.twitter.com/4CLmzeWrYN — GOLF.com (@GOLF_com) March 25, 2024

“So I was like, ‘Yeah, if you are looking to play?'” McIlroy said. “And I’ve never played before, so I’m looking forward to it.”

By the way, if a “drunken lunch” with McIlroy and Lowry sounds familiar, you might have read about that already (assuming this is the same one). It was included in a lengthy interview with Paul Kimmage of the Irish Independent , who sat down with the Irish stars after Europe’s 2023 Ryder Cup win.

According to the Kimmage piece , shortly after they returned to the U.S., McIlroy stopped over to Lowry’s house for lunch, which included a bottle of wine. Eventually, they had other guests: Luke Donald and (wait for it) Michael Jordan.

“Rory, Luke and MJ sitting around talking about the Ryder Cup,” Lowry told Kimmage. [Laughs.] “… Not really how I envisioned the celebrations.”

Was that the same lunch McIlroy was referring to? If so, we’ll call that one productive business luncheon: dining with the GOAT and a Zurich Classic partnership.

The lads @McIlroyRory ☘️☘️ pic.twitter.com/TThh5AGsEM — Shane Lowry (@ShaneLowryGolf) March 25, 2024

McIlroy’s presence is a big get for the New Orleans tournament.

With its new format, the Zurich has had a combination of big-name teams and some more unique duos . Anyone who is qualified can pick their partner, even if they aren’t qualified themselves (just as long as they are PGA Tour members or get a sponsor’s exemption) . Pals Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay have been one of the more star-studded pairings in past years (they won two years ago), and in 2022, Bill Haas asked his dad, 68-year-old Jay Haas, to partner with him. They tied for 36th.

Last year, John Daly and David Duval teamed up as sponsor’s exemptions and missed the cut, and brothers Matt and Alex Fitzpatrick contended but ultimately tied for 19th. Nick Hardy and Davis Riley are the defending champions.

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As GOLF.com’s managing editor, Berhow handles the day-to-day and long-term planning of one of the sport’s most-read news and service websites. He spends most of his days writing , editing, planning and wondering if he’ll ever break 80. Before joining GOLF.com in 2015, he worked at newspapers in Minnesota and Iowa. A graduate of Minnesota State University in Mankato, Minn., he resides in the Twin Cities with his wife and two kids. You can reach him at [email protected].

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Rory McIlroy reverses course on LIV Golf, ‘can’t believe PGA Tour has done so well’

McIlroy had been the most outspoken critic of LIV, but times and opinions change as the Irishman made very clear.

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Share All sharing options for: Rory McIlroy reverses course on LIV Golf, ‘can’t believe PGA Tour has done so well’

As we ring in the New Year, the division in golf between the PGA Tour and LIV has reached it’s peak. LIV’s signing of reigning Masters champion Jon Rahm last month was the latest, and biggest blow to the PGA Tour.

As talks with the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) resume , PGA Tour ardent supporter Rory McIlroy joined the English podcast , Stick to Football .

They covered a wide range of topics, including McIlroy hilariously getting snubbed for an autograph by his childhood hero, Roy Keane.

But things took on a more serious tone when McIlroy was asked about LIV Golf. Thus far, the 34-year-old Irishman had been the most outspoken critic of the Saudi tour.

That appears to have changed.

“I think what LIV has done, it’s exposed the flaws in the system of what golf has... we’re all supposed to be independent contractors and we can pick and choose what tournaments we want to play. But I think what LIV and the Saudis have exposed is that you’re asking for millions of dollars to sponsor these events, and you’re not able to guarantee to the sponsors that the players are going to show up,” McIlroy said.

He would then touch on how a number of PGA Tour sponsors have pulled out of events in recent months. Days after Rahm signed with LIV, Wells Fargo, a title sponsor, announced they will discontinue their partnership with the PGA Tour after 2024.

“I can’t believe the PGA Tour has done so well for so long,” McIlroy said.

On its face, the 4-time major champion is not wrong. Some of the best players in the world have left for LIV, weakening the overall talent pool on tour. Yet, the PGA Tour has been asking for more, not less from their sponsors to keep up with LIV financially.

But what’s really interesting is that McIlroy’s response came to the question of: “What is it fundamentally that you don’t like about LIV Golf?”

For McIlroy’s mind upon hearing that question to immediately go to defending the Saudi tour is in stark contrast to his position previously. He even detailed why.

“I was maybe a little judgmental of the guys who went to LIV Golf at the start, and I think it was a bit of a mistake on my part because I now realize that not everyone is in my position or in Tiger Woods’ position,” he said.

“I’ve gone through the last two years with this altruistic approach where I’ve looked at the world the way I’ve wanted to see it... I wouldn’t say I’ve lost the fight against LIV, but I’ve just accepted the fact that this is part of our sport now.”

To some degree, his comments feel disingenuous. It’s as though he was tired of being ridiculed for being propped up as the proverbial knight in shining armor for the PGA Tour.

But at the same time, his recognition that most players who joined LIV do not have the same opportunities, and revenue streams, as he does sounds authentic.

Either way, McIlroy made it clear he still believes the two tours will come together soon. That’s despite all of the evidence pointing in the opposite direction. Even if the Tour and the PIF come to a deal, the writing is on the wall; LIV Golf is not going anywhere anytime soon.

Kendall Capps is the Senior Editor of SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms.

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For Rory McIlroy, the view from the top never gets old

RIDGELAND, SOUTH CAROLINA - OCTOBER 23: Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland celebrates with the trophy after winning during the final round of the CJ Cup at Congaree Golf Club on October 23, 2022 in Ridgeland, South Carolina. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

Returns to world No. 1 with victory at THE CJ CUP in South Carolina

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Rory McIlroy’s late birdie burst secures win at THE CJ CUP

RIDGELAND, S.C. – A decade after first getting to the top of the golf world as a bushy-haired 22-year-old from Northern Ireland, Rory McIlroy will wake up Monday as world No. 1 again, doing so in style by successfully defending his title at THE CJ CUP in South Carolina.

The view is just as good, even on your ninth climb. McIlroy started Sunday with a one-shot lead over three players and kept the pedal down through 16 holes, making seven birdies with some brilliant play at Congaree Golf Club to hold off a trio of players who kept on his heels throughout. Even with two closing bogeys, McIlroy would shoot 4-under 67 to finish at 17-under 267, edging Kurt Kitayama (67) by a shot. K.H. Lee (68) was third. Hard-charging Tommy Fleetwood (65) and Jon Rahm – who briefly led on Sunday – tied for fourth.

The victory was McIlroy’s 23rd PGA TOUR title, and he supplanted Masters champion Scottie Scheffler atop the rankings, the ninth time he has been No. 1. McIlroy last was there at the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday in 2020, and there was nothing casual about finding himself there again.

When McIlroy missed the cut at the Valero Texas Open last spring, he felt lost with his game, just as he had last autumn after a poor performance at the Ryder Cup. He had vowed to take more ownership in his game, to stop going down any more “rabbit holes.” Getting all the pieces to fit together again has been an effort that took an entire team.

“It’s been a wild six months,” McIlroy said. “I figured a few things out with my game, and I've just been on a really good run. Everything sort of feels like it's came together for me and today was just a continuation of how I felt like I've been playing over these last few months. Now it's all about going forward and trying to just keep this going.”

There was a time one could tell how Rory McIlroy was performing on the golf course just by viewing his gait. Walking slowly with shoulders slumped, it would not be his best day. Conversely, when everything would be firing, there’d be a visible bounce in his step, as if he were walking on bed springs.

On those good days, and McIlroy has more than most, he can look like a kid in a rush to be first at the door at the morning bakery. Sunday afternoon in the Carolina Lowcountry, with the sun fading fast and the tallest trees casting long shadows at THE CJ CUP in South Carolina, McIlroy barely was touching turf as he made his way alongside the rugged waste area on the closing hole at Congaree Golf Club.

The two competitors alongside in the final group, Kitayama and Lee, were more than 100 yards behind him when he got to the green. It was a tad symbolic. An in-form version of McIlroy, which was on full display on Sunday, can produce that sort of separation.

McIlroy, now 33 with some gray sprinkled in his temples, pulled away along a key stretch of holes on Congaree’s back nine (which he played in 10-under for the week). At the 227-yard 14th hole, which contender Jon Rahm had just bogeyed (plugged bunker lie) up ahead, McIlroy flushed a 5-iron that settled under the hole, and he ran in the 14-footer for birdie, one of only five birdies the hole would yield.

A LOOK AT RORY MCILROY'S TIME AT WORLD NO. 1

At the 348-yard 15th, Kitayama drove the green and McIlroy leaked his drive into a waste area right of the green. But Kitayama three-putted for par from 43 feet, and McIlroy made birdie with a deft up-and-down from the sand. When he clipped a little sand wedge from 58 yards beneath tree limbs to 22 feet at 16 – a nifty little play – and rolled in yet another birdie putt, the others essentially were left to play for second.

“Yeah, I mean, when he gets that putter going, he's tough to beat, and that's kind of what happened,” said Kitayama, a second-year TOUR member who was a runner-up for the third time since April. “He made those three putts, that was the difference.”

McIlroy became the first reigning FedExCup champion to win in his season debut since Tiger Woods (Farmers Insurance Open) in 2008. THE CJ CUP also marked McIlroy’s third victory of 2022, and on each occasion, he went out on a Sunday and seized control. He shot 62 in winning his second consecutive RBC Canadian Open, and closed in 66 to edge Scheffler at the TOUR Championship.

“I think that's been the most satisfying thing,” he said. “I've put myself in position all those three times and went out there and got the job done and did what I needed to. They're great strides and great steps in the right direction.”

Kitayama, meanwhile, who like McIlroy packs lots of power into a smallish frame (he is 5-foot-7), doesn’t mess around with lightweights on those occasions that he battles his way into contention. At the Mexico Open at Vidanta in late April, he ran second to Rahm; at the Genesis Scottish Open this past summer, Xander Schauffele edged him by a shot; and Sunday he went toe-to-toe with McIlroy, not giving an inch.

The 18th hole hardly was a breeze for McIlroy. Leading by two, he knocked his second shot on but was 40 feet short of the hole. His first putt zoomed 8 feet past. Kitayama had a 25-foot right-to-left slider for birdie to make things very interesting, but his putt rolled past the left edge. McIlroy had two putts to win and used them. He admitted later that Kitayama was not easy to shake.

“Basically, every time he’s in contention he is right there until the end,” said Kitayama’s caddie Bryan Martin, who has been on the bag for three years. “When he’s been there, he has stayed in it until the very last hole. I think it’s just a matter of time for him. Nothing but positives to take from a day like this.”

Same for McIlroy. Nothing but positives. The first player to greet him at scoring was 20-year-old Tom Kim, who gave him a big hug. McIlroy was that young buck once. His newest trophy in front of him, and his return to No. 1 secured, he thanked a list of folks that would rival an Oscar winner. Wife, daughter, parents, caddie, agent, trainer, coach, putting coach ... the list went on.

“It's a team effort, and I think whenever I think about that, that's what gets me a little bit choked up and emotional,” he said, “because it's really cool to be on this journey with other people that you want to be on the journey with.

“That's a really cool part of it.”

As is being on top of the golf universe. Again.

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Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy's TGL confirms launch on Tuesday nights beginning January 2025

The virtual golf league is expected to finally get going once the new year rolls around.

Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy's TGL simulator golf league announced Monday that its inaugural season will launch in January 2025. The opening three matches will take place on the first three Tuesdays of the month beginning Jan. 7.

The league was initially set to debut in January 2024 only to have its start pushed an entire year when construction on its facility in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, was damaged. TGL has since decided to build a more-formal arena, the SoFi Center, at the same site -- Palm Beach State College.

"January is a tremendous time of year for fans looking for prime time sports, and TGL's launch will complement the start of the PGA Tour season and take advantage of ESPN's promotional machine across their coverage of the NFL and College Football Playoff," said Mike McCarley, founder and CEO of TMRW Sports, in a statement.

The league originally announced that it would play frequently on Monday nights in 2024. TGL will likely play a mixture of Mondays and Tuesdays in 2025 with the season wrapping up in March before preparation for the Masters and major championship season, CBS Sports has confirmed.

TGL's host facility was damaged in November 2023 when its temporary power system and backup systems failed causing the bubble being constructed to deflate. That will not be an issue moving forward as TGL released renderings of a new structure that will house the competition.

The course within the SoFi Center covers the surface of roughly a football field, and it will allow players to hit full shots from real grass tee boxes, fairway, rough and sand into a simulator screen 20 times the standard size. For shots inside 50 yards, competitors will transition from the simulator to the "Green Zone," a complex spanning more than four basketball courts that features a large, adaptable putting surface that can change the green's slope depending on the hole being played.

TGL will feature a 15-match regular season that will set the stage for the postseason where a best-of-three championship awaits the top two teams. Ahead of each three-on-three match, the two teams of four will announce which of their players are participating. All players will be mic'd up.

TGL match format, scoring

• 15 holes per match
• Three of four golfers from each team play
• Nine holes of Triples: Alternate shot (three-on-three)
• Six holes of Singles: Head-to-head (one-on-one for two holes each)
• 1 point per hole won | 0 points if hole tied
• Overtime: Closest-to-the-pin until one team hits two shots closer than the other

A team will earn 2 points for a victory in either regulation or overtime. An overtime loss will earn a team 1 point, while a regulation defeat will see the squad come away from the match empty handed.

Other player commitments

• Wyndham Clark
• Xander Schauffele
• Matt Fitzpatrick
• Cameron Young
• Min Woo Lee
• Rickie Fowler
• Shane Lowry
• Kevin Kisner

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Four more courses coming free to Rory McIlroy PGA Tour

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Another three real-world courses and four modes of play will be added into Rory McIlroy PGA Tour by March, EA Sports announced today. The additions, plus two other free courses already released, should help soothe disappointment over the skimpy offerings the golf title had offered at launch.

EA Sports didn't give a specific timeline for the new course inclusions, but there will be four — Quail Hollow Club of Charlotte, NC, TPC Stadium at PGA West in La Quinta, CA, Oakmont Country Club in suburban Pittsburgh, and Treasure Island, a fictitious course.

Rory McIlroy PGA Tour added  TPC Scottsdale in August and  East Lake Golf Club in September and with them, two additional events in the career mode. There was no specific detail on how the four new courses would be incorporated into the game's career.

That will bring to 18 the number of courses in the game, all either on the disc or free to download. By comparison, the final three editions of the preceding Tiger Woods PGA Tour series had 16 to 20 courses in the main release.

Additionally, real-life golfers Dustin Johnson and Henrik Stenson will be added to the roster of players, and one-off play will offer skins, four ball, alternate shot and best ball formats, as had been available in past series.

Rory McIlroy PGA Tour was praised for its enhanced gameplay but it wasn't enough to overcome the skimpy offerings — just 12 courses, eight of them real — at launch. Polygon  scored the game a 6.0, in particular lamenting the thin career mode but pleased with the swing mechanisms and changes to putting.

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