Rory McIlroy confirms brief break from golf as Masters champion speaks out

Rory McIlroy is set to take a week off after competing at the Zurich Classic alongside Shane Lowry, with the 35-year-old set to return to golf at the Truist Championship

Rory McIlroy has announced that he will miss the CJ Cup Byron Nelson this week in order to have a “reset” following his dramatic victory at the Masters earlier this month. McIlroy beat Justin Rose in a play-off to become just the sixth man to complete golf’s grand slam, having already won the US Open, PGA Championship and the Open Championship.

The 35-year-old then cut his celebrations short to take part in the Zurich Classic, an event which he won alongside Shane Lowry last year. However, McIlroy and Lowry failed to defend their title and finished with a share of 12th place.

Ben Griffin and Andrew Novak ended up winning the tournament, with McIlroy and Lowry finishing six shots behind the two Americans. And McIlroy is now planning to take a week off instead of competing at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson.

“I’ve got to just take a little bit of time here,” McIlroy said after the Zurich Classic. “It’s nice to have a week off, and 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. Yeah, I’m looking forward to a couple of days off and then sort of kicking the feet up and trying to recharge the batteries a little bit.”

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Reflecting on his performance in New Orleans, McIlroy added: “It’s been a fun week. I think when we went back out after the delay, we felt like we still had a good chance, and we didn’t make birdie on 11, and then we bogeyed 13 again for the second time this week.

“Yeah, just didn’t really have any momentum from when we started back up again, and it was difficult to just sort of get anything. Overall, it’s been a good week. It’s always good to team up with this man. We’ve had fun.”

McIlroy is set to be back in action at the Truist Championship in May, before competing in the PGA Championship which starts on May 15. The tournament is the second major of the year and McIlroy has won it twice before, with his last triumph coming in 2014.

And McIlroy has been tipped to dominate the sport after finally winning the Masters, with Xander Schauffele claiming he will become a “scary” proposition for his rivals. “He is a generational talent and to do what he did is incredible for the game of golf,” Schauffele said.

“If that was something that was holding him back and now he feels free, that could be a pretty scary thing. He has all the tools, I think, when I look at his game and what he can do.

“I’ve played against him when he’s firing on all cylinders and it’s not fun for me. It’s fun for everyone else to watch but it’s hard to beat.

“Would I be surprised if he started rattling [more majors] off? No. Am I going to be there to try and stop him? Absolutely.”

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