Golf Glance: McIlroy, Lowry defend in Big Easy; LPGA hits major season

Field Level Media’s Golf Glance provides weekly news and storylines from each of the major North American golf tours.

PGA TOUR

LAST TOURNAMENT: RBC Heritage (Justin Thomas)

THIS WEEK: Zurich Classic of New Orleans, Avondale, La., April 24-27

Course: TPC Louisiana (Par 72, 7,425 Yards)

Purse: $9.2M (Winner: $1.33M Each)

Defending Champions: Rory McIlroy/Shane Lowry

FedEx Cup leader: Rory McIlroy

HOW TO FOLLOW

TV: Thursday-Friday: 3-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday: 1-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3-6 p.m. (CBS)

Streaming (ESPN+): Thursday: 7:30 a.m.-6 p.m. ET; Friday: 8:45 a.m.-6 p.m.; Saturday: 9 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sunday: 10:30 a.m.-6 p.m.

X: @Zurich_Classic

NOTES: This is the only two-player format on the PGA Tour schedule. Teams will play four-ball in the first and third rounds, and alternate shot in the second and final rounds. … Each player on the winning team will be awarded 400 FedExCup points, a two-year exemption on tour and entry in the three remaining signature events of the year in addition to their prize money. … McIlroy and Lowry defeated Chad Ramey and Martin Trainer on the first playoff hole last year. No team successfully has defended their title since the team format was introduced in 2017. … Charley Hoffman and Nick Watney are the only pair to compete together in each of the previous seven editions of the team format. … Alex and Matt Fitzpatrick are one of three pairs of brothers competing this week. The others are Denmark’s Nicolai and Rasmus Hojgaard and Germany’s Jeremy and Yannick Paul. … This is the second of three events that count toward the Aon Swing 5 for entry into the next signature event at the Truist Championship. … The tournament scoring record of 258 was set by Nick Hardy and Davis Riley in 2023.

BEST BETS: Shane Lowry/Rory McIlroy (+350 at DraftKings) are the defending champions, and McIlroy enters with three victories already this year while Lowry has a trio of top-10s in nine starts. … Kurt Kitayama/Collin Morikawa (+1200) pairs two Las Vegas residents. Morikawa is the second-highest ranked player in the field at No. 4 and has finished no lower than T17 in seven 2025 starts. … Thomas Detry/Robert MacIntyre (+1600) sees Detry trying to regain his form lost since winning in Phoenix. MacIntyre, who won the Scottish Open last year, did finished ninth at The Players last month. … Andrew Novak/Ben Griffin (+2000) have been two of the rising players in 2025. Both have yet to win on tour, although Novak lost in a playoff last week. … Aaron Rai/Sahith Theegala (+2000).

NEXT TOURNAMENT: The CJ Cup Byron Nelson, McKinney, Texas, May 1-4

LPGA TOUR

LAST TOURNAMENT: JM Eagle LA Championship (Ingrid Lindblad)

THIS WEEK: The Chevron Championship, The Woodlands, Texas, April 24-27

Course: The Club at Carlton Woods, Nicklaus Course (Par 72, 6,6911 Yards)

Purse: $8M (Winner: $1.2M)

Defending Champion: Nelly Korda

Race to the CME Globe leader: Jeeno Thitikul

HOW TO WATCH

TV: Thursday-Friday: 11 a.m.-3 p.m., 6-8 p.m. (Golf Channel/NBC Digital); Saturday-Sunday: 2-3 p.m. (Peacock/NBC Digital); 3-6 p.m. (NBC/Peacock)

Streaming (ESPN+): Thursday-Friday: 9 a.m.-7:30 p.m. ET; Saturday-Sunday: 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m.

X: @Chevron_Golf

NOTES: This is the first of five majors in 2025. The event began in 1972 and became a major in 1983. … Rose Zhang withdrew from the event as she continues to recover from a neck injury. No timetable has been set for her return to competition. … Defending champion and top-ranked Nelly Korda highlights a deep field that includes all eight winners thus far in 2025 along with 12 LPGA Tour rookies. Twenty-six players will be making their event debuts, including Lindblad as she comes off her maiden win on tour. … Korda won by two shots last year for her fifth of six consecutive wins. … 2014 champion Lexi Thompson is in the field as she competes on a part-time schedule this year.

NEXT TOURNAMENT: Black Desert Championship, Ivins, Utah, May 1-4

LIV GOLF LEAGUE

LAST TOURNAMENT: Miami (Individual: Marc Leishman; Team: Ripper GC)

THIS WEEK: LIV Golf Mexico City, April 25-27

Course: Club de Golf Chapultepec (Par 71, 7,385 Yards)

Purse: Individual $20M (Winner: $4M); Team: $5M (Winners: $3M)

Defending Champions: Inaugural event

Season Leaders: Individual: Joaquin Niemann; Team: Fireballs GC

HOW TO WATCH

TV/Streaming: Friday-Saturday: 2:15 p.m. ET (FOX, LIV Golf Plus); Sunday: 2:05 p.m. ET (FOX, LIV Golf Plus)

X: @livgolf_league

NOTES: This is the sixth of 13 events on the 2025 schedule, which will be followed by the Team Championship. … LIV’s previous two events in Mexico were held at Mayakoba in 2024 and ’24. Chapultepec is located 7,800 feet above sea level. HyFlyers GC captain Phil Mickelson won a World Golf Championships event at the course in 2018. Other WGC winners at Chapultepec include LIV players Patrick Reed and Dustin Johnson, who was a two-time winner. … The field consists of 13 four-player teams competing in daily shotgun starts over 54 holes. Each team’s top three scores are counted for each round. … Niemann is the only player with multiple individual titles this season, while Legion XIII captain Jon Rahm is the only player with top-10 finishes in each of the first five events.

NEXT TOURNAMENT: LIV Golf Korea, May 2-4

PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS

LAST TOURNAMENT: James Hardie Pro Football Hall of Fame Invitational (Angel Cabrera)

THIS WEEK: Mitsubishi Electric Classic, Duluth, Ga., April 25-27

Course: TPC Sugarloaf (Par 72, 7,179 Yards)

Purse: $2M (Winner: $300,000)

Defending Champion: Stephen Ames (2023-24)

Charles Schwab Cup leader: Miguel Angel Jimenez

HOW TO WATCH

TV: Friday: 9-11 p.m. (Golf Channel – Tape Delay); Saturday-Sunday, 3-6 p.m. (Golf Channel)

NOTES: The 78-player field will compete over 54 holes and includes seven World Golf Hall of Fame members: Ernie Els, Retief Goosen, Padraig Harrington, Bernhard Langer, Davis Love III, Colin Montgomerie and Vijay Singh. … Ames, who is the two-time defending champion, set the tournament scoring record of 197 in his 2023 victory. He also won the event in 2017. The other multiple-time winner of the event is Steve Flesch (2018, 2022). … TPC Sugarloaf was designed by former LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman.

NEXT TOURNAMENT: Insperity Invitational, The Woodlands, Texas, May 2-4

–Field Level Media