The Northern Irishman was a married man for almost 7 years; however, he is not anymore! Before teeing up at Valhalla, he filed for divorce from his ex-wife, Erica Stoll, in Florida. This was his not-first-publicized split, as he has been through it before in 2014 when he ended his engagement with Caroline Wozniacki over a 3-minute phone call. Everyone assumed at the PGA Championship that McIlroy would go on a winning rampage like he did a decade ago, but that did not happen. He did not seem much bothered about the split, at least on the greens of Valhalla, and now, a few days later, it seems, he is enjoying his best single life.

Mcilroy is back in Canada, and it seems to be one of his favorite events to compete at. After all, he has won it twice, in 2019 and 2022. On Thursday, it was an even-par front nine for Rory McIlroy at the RBC Canadian Open. He took everyone by surprise after carding four birdies and a bogey-free back nine to finish 4 under 66. And tied for sixth on the leaderboard after the first round.

This incredibly low round by the 26-time PGA Tour winner was more surprising because McIlroy was feeling a bit wobbled after having a great night. To put it simply, he was “hungover.” Adam Schupak of Golf Week shared on X that McIlroy was a bit groggy the morning of his first round, as the previous night he celebrated his caddie, Harry Diamond’s, birthday. Diamond is also McIlroy’s best friend and the two grew up together in Holywood, Co. Down, Northern Ireland. NUCLR Golf later reposted this as the news went rampant in the golf world.

McIlroy revealed that during the celebration he had a couple of glasses of wine, which had him hungover before his tee time. The birthday celebration turned a lot of heads as the golf fans related McIlroy’s little outing to his going through a divorce.

Talking about his hungover game, the golfer said, “So I played the back nine blind,” McIlroy admitted after his round. “I hadn’t seen the back nine, only played the front nine in the pro-am so I was happy enough to get out of there in even par and not make a bogey. But once I got those nine holes out of the way, I knew there were some chances on the front side and played much better. Four birdies and no bogeys was a good day’s work.”

The golfer has been playing nonstop at quite a few events now and is feeling good about it. Before Valhalla, he won the Zurich Classic and the Wells Fargo Championship. “I’ve played a lot of golf this year. I’m on another four-week stretch, but it’s been good. I’ve started to play my way into form and I’ve played well the past few weeks and hopefully, I can keep that going,” said 4x major winner.

Many in the golf world were impressed with McIlroy’s shot of 66, even with a hazy demeanor, while a few were disappointed in McIlroy’s decision to share the details of his off-course engagements.

The golf world reacts to Rory McIlroy’s drunk confession

A few drinks have rarely affected Rory McIlroy for the worse. Last time, he narrated the story of a drunken lunch with Shane Lowry, which resulted in them both teeing up as a team at the 2024 Zurich Classic. Well, it turned out to be his first victory in the 2024 season. At the RBC Canadian Open, the fans cited the recent changes in his life as the reason behind his night out, as one fan said, “Single Life” while another sarcastically commented, “Recently divorced and feelin it.” 

McIlroy’s hungover round one became a fan favorite as many had experienced this type of round at times. They called the Northern Irishman “one of us” and for this fan, the new hangover and comparatively easygoing McIlroy were the best. They said, “Single Rory is my favorite.” Another loved the new McIlroy and believed that he was crazy to shoot 66 while being hungover. They commented, “Single Rory is absolutely unhinged man shot -4 on the PGA whilst hungover.” 

Some did not understand the hype around the 35-year-old for carding a 4 under 66 at Hamilton G&CC, which for them was not incredible or special. They compared McIlroy to former PGA Tour pros and downplayed his performance on the Ontario greens, saying, “New era of tour pros are so soft. This was a normal round back in the day for tour pros. The fact that he even mentioned that is so embarrassing and makes golf look even less cool than it is. And I’m a Rory fan saying this lol.” 

Another reciprocated a similar stance on McIlroy playing the RBC Canadian Open’s round one being hangover. They found it hilarious coming from McIlroy, who is usually poised. The golf enthusiast had only 5 words for McIlroy’s hungover 66, they tauntingly said, “This sh*t is so embarrassing.” 

What was your first reaction to McIlroy scoring 4 under 66 that too while being little bit hungover? Tell us in the comments.