After a short break following his historic Masters Tournament victory, Rory McIlroy is back in action at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.He and Shane Lowry will look to defend their title after they won it in their debut last year.They spoke with the media on Wednesday ahead of the tournament, and of course, the media wanted to know how the Northern Irishman has been since making history.He revealed some interesting tidbits about what had happened since he finally put on the Green Jacket."I spoke to two Presidents the day after, which was pretty cool," McIlroy said."People reaching out from all walks of life, whether it be sports, entertainment, culture. All of it. People that you would never even think would watch golf or would know what's going on, that was very, very humbling."The number of celebrities and important people who sent him congratulatory notes was plentiful. From the countless messages, it was clear, Rory's win spoke to people. Not to mention, the television ratings also proved that McIlory moves the needle."People can see themselves in the struggle at times, and everything that you sort of try to put into getting the best out of yourself in that journey," he noted. "I think people watching someone finally get it done, something they've been trying to do for a decade plus, I think it resonated with a lot of people."After his win, McIlroy went to London and Belfast, Northern Ireland, to see his family. He also got to see his lifelong coach, Michael Bannon, and spend time with his parents.Lowry joked that he was unsure if McIlroy would show up this week since he won the career Grand Slam, but that is not his buddy's style."It was important to me — that was one of the things Shane said to me that night, like, are you still wanting to come and play Zurich, and I said, 'Absolutely.' We're defending a title," McIlroy explained. "We had so much fun last year here. It's important for me to honor that commitment."McIlroy wanted to be there for Lowry, and the duo had so much fun last year that he prioritized the Zurich Classic. The duo won last year after making 30 birdies and winning in a playoff with a 25-under overall score.If they emerge victorious on Sunday, they will be the first pair to defend their title in this event. McIlroy and Lowry will play alongside Tom Hoge and Kevin Chappell on Thursday at 8:52 a.m. EDT in the Four-Ball format.More Golf: LPGA Phenom Rose Zhang Out of Season's First Major, Chevron Championship