Rory McIlroy lunches with rivals, sets aside differences for Scottish Open return

Rory McIlroy joined rival Tyrrell Hatton and a host of other golf stars for a dinner in London ahead of this weekend’s Scottish Open. McIlroy is still reeling from his tough loss at last month’s U.S. Open but is one of the early favorites to win a trophy north of the border.

The Northern Irishman joined several of his Ryder Cup pals for drinks and dinner in London on Sunday evening. Hatton, who snubbed McIlroy by leaving TGL to sign with LIV Golf earlier this year, was among the players in attendance. Two players were teammates, since Europe won the United States last year from the Ryder Cup, but there were frictions between them when Hatton decided to join Liv. His choice meant that his contract with TGL, an interactive league founded by Macialra and Tiger Woods, has been declared invalid. Tommy Fleetwood will change his mind before Open at Royal Troon

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Hatton was a member of McIlroy’s Boston Common golf team before deciding to sign a lucrative contract with LIV earlier this year. He explained that he had spoken to McIlroy before putting pen to paper afterwards, and maintained that the conversation was friendly. “I called Rory,” Hutton said. “The contract says you can’t play on TGL if you’re on LIV. I told Rory I was joining LIV, which meant I wouldn’t be playing TGL anymore.”

McIlroy has been one of the LIV’s most vocal critics in recent years, but he has softened his stance on the issue, acknowledging in February that wayward players should be allowed to return to the PGA Tour without risk of punishment.

“I think it’s hard to punish people,” he said. “I don’t think there should be a penalty (for returning). I look at the current state of golf and see that having a smaller PGA Tour and a smaller LIV Tour etc is not good for both, so obviously I’ve changed my mind.”

There were no signs of any disagreement between McIlroy and Hatton on Sunday night, and the pair appeared to be having fun over a few drinks and some food. Hatton, Lowry, Fleetwood and Donald then appeared in the Royal Box at Wimbledon on Monday.

McIlroy will be desperate to get back to winning form in Scotland after losing a two-stroke lead in a painful chokehold at the U.S. Open. He hasn’t played competitive golf since, but he has high hopes he can bounce back this weekend.