Shane Lowry has admitted that regardless of Rory McIlroy's result at the Masters, he felt that his friend would not be in New Orleans to defend their Zurich Classic of New Orleans title.
Lowry, whose final round 81 at Augusta slump saw him finish four-over par, was rooting for his good friend as McIlroy fulfilled his lifelong ambition of winning all four majors when he was crowned Masters champion by beating Justin Rose in a dramatic play-off earlier this month.
The world number two from Hollywood ended his 11-year wait for an achievement that has been managed by only five other players, resulting in an outpouring of appreciation.
The Offaly native told reporters on Wednesday that he confided to his caddie Darren Reynolds that the golfers would be lucky to play in Louisiana.
"If things didn't go his way (at the final round of the Masters), I don't think he'd want to be here, and I thought if things did go his way, he'd want to be somewhere else," the 38-year-old said. "But I'm happy he's here."
And so is McIlroy.
"We're defending a title. We had so much fun last year here," the new Masters champion said. "Obviously it's important for me to honour that commitment."
McIlroy has enjoyed the good life after winning the Masters. He revealed that US presidents past and present – Barack Obama and Donald Trump – were among the notable people to reach out to him after winning his fifth major and first since 2014.
"I spoke to two presidents the day after, which was pretty cool," he said. "Just people reaching out from all walks of life, whether it be sports, entertainment, culture. Just all of it.
"People that you would never even think that would watch golf or would know what's going on, that was very, very humbling, I guess."
McIlroy enters with three victories already this year while Lowry has a trio of top-10s in nine starts.
