Rory McIlroy confirmed to return to golf after hiatus following US Open failure
Rory McIlroy has been confirmed to play his first match since his US Open failure at the Scottish Open later this week.
The 35-year-old Northern Irishman has been off the golf course for the past three weeks following his failure at Pinehurst and ongoing divorce drama. The four-time Major winner will officially return to golf in Scotland on Thursday after the final tournament start time before the Open is announced on Tuesday. McIlroy is set to begin his title defense at the Renaissance Club alongside European teammates Viktor Hovland and Robert McIntrye on Thursday at 8:28am BST/3:28am ET.
He will follow this week\’s event with The Open at Royal Troon – his final chance of the year to end his 10-year Major drought.
Holding a two-shot lead during the final round of last month\’s major, McIlroy carded three bogeys across the final five holes – missing two putts from a combined distance of seven feet. He left the course minutes after Bryson DeChambeau’s win and announced less than 24 hours later that he would not return to tournament play until the tour returns to Scotland this week.
“Yesterday was a tough day, probably the toughest in my nearly 17 years as a professional golfer,” McIlroy said in a statement on social media. “First of all, I want to congratulate Bryson. He is a worthy champion and exactly what professional golf needs right now. I think we can all agree on that.
“Looking back on this week, I’ll regret some things throughout the tournament, including missing two putts on the 16th and 18th holes on the final day. But as I always do, I want to focus on the positives this week, which far outweigh the negatives.
“As I said at the beginning of the tournament, I feel like I’m closer than ever to winning the next Major Championship. “The only word that can describe my career is ‘resilience.’ I have demonstrated my resilience time and time again over the past 17 years, and I intend to continue to do so in the future. “I’m going to take a few weeks off to think and prepare for my defenses at the Genesis Scottish Open and the Royal Troon Open.”
McIlroy announced on the eve of a major that he was calling off his divorce from wife Erica.
His stooping incident at the U.S. Open also extended his decade-long drought of major wins and came during a tumultuous period off the court.
On the eve of the U.S. Open, he announced that he was calling off his divorce from his wife of seven years, Erica Stoll. Just a month ago, before the PGA Championship in May, McIlroy announced he was separating from Erica because his marriage was “irretrievably broken.”
But on Tuesday before the tournament, McIlroy said in a statement: “I regret the recent rumors regarding my personal life. Reacting to every rumor is a fool’s errand.
“Over the past few weeks, Erica and I have realized that staying together as a family is our best future. Fortunately, we are determining the difference and looking forward to the new beginning. \ ‘
A few weeks after the repeated sections, the couple was seen in a rare public, and seemed to be really making their novels.
Mcilroess is said to have been to Scotland for this week after enjoying a date between a golf cup teammate and a London partner on Sunday evening. Diane Donald, wife of European victory captain Luke Donald, shared a photo on her Instagram story of the group outing with the Sledge sisters’ “We Are Family” blasting.
McIlroy (second from left in back) and Erica Stoll (fourth from back) spent the night in London on Sunday night with their Ryder Cup teammates and partners.
McIlroy sat next to Donald, who will begin his second term next year, in Bethpage, New York, but it’s unclear where in the British capital the golf gang dined after their victory. Shein Loury, Tommy Flitwood, Nikolai Hoygard and Tyrrell Hatton, who will go to Spain for the Andalucia Liv Golf \ ‘Andalucia event, also gathered around the table.
Meanwhile, Stall sat further on the table, tight between Wendy Loury and Diane, while Claire Flitwood and Hoygard’s friend, Amanda Falkenberg, joined them at the end.
