Rory McIlroy return date confirmed after historic Masters title win
Rory McIlroy will return to the golf course on Thursday just 11 days after he finally won the coveted Masters title.
McIlroy ended an 11-year wait for a major triumph last weekend with a dramatic play-off victory against Justin Rose at Augusta National.
He became the sixth golfer to complete a Career Grand Slam and the first to do so since Tiger Woods in 2000.
McIlroy returned to Northern Ireland on Friday to celebrate with his parents and therefore missed the RBC Heritage event this weekend.
But the newly-crowned Masters champion will make his comeback on the green imminently to defend another title.
McIlroy and Irishman Shane Lowry are the reigning champions of the PGA Tour team event, Zurich Classic of New Orleans.
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Lowry has confirmed that they will compete together for back-to-back wins when the action begins in Louisiana on Thursday.
"To be honest, I didn't want him to feel like he had to play because of me. He's not letting me down if he wanted to take some time.
"He feels like he wants to get back out there."
Another Zurich Classic of New Orleans victory would add to what has already been an excellent 2025 for McIlroy.
He first won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February before claiming his second title at the Players Championship last month.
After the coming week's tournament at TPC of Louisiana, McIlroy will begin to turn his focus towards the other three majors in 2025.
The PGA Championship is next in May, followed by the US Open in June and then The Open Championship in July.
If McIlroy wins all three in the same calendar year as the Masters, he would follow in the footsteps of Bobby Jones, who became the first ever player to claim such an achievement in 1930.
McIlroy will be full of confidence upon his return this week in a year that could become one of the most successful in golf history.