Rory McIlroy Forced to Leave Family Behind and Commit to Back-to-Back European Tour Events

Rory McIlroy is setting himself up for five big tournaments in a six-week run. This stretch is going to be a strenuous task for him, keeping in mind the restrictions imposed.

McIlroy was initially planning to balance out the week with family and a few hours of practice before the 149th Open. But the travel restrictions announced by R&A for The Open have forced him to change plans. McIlroy recently shed some light on that matter.

What made Rory McIlroy play back-to-back European tour events?

The various logistical complications have forced Rory to leave his wife, Erica, and daughter, Poppy, at home in the United States. He made this tough decision so that his family doesn’t have to go through harsh restrictions. McIlroy has made his way to Ireland to play at the Dubai Duty-Free Irish Open at Mount Juliet.

And since Rory McIlroy doesn’t have his family with him, he has decided to tee-off at the subsequent Scottish Open as well. A tournament played a week before the final major of the year, ‘The Open.’ The 32-year-old will join the US Open Champion Jon Rahm in making the playing field even more scintillating.

“We made the decision that I would travel on my own. And because I wasn’t going to go back to the States for one week in between the Irish and The Open, I thought I might as well play the Scottish. So it went quickly from them coming to them not coming, and then me playing three events in a row.” said the former world no.1 at the pre-round press conference.

Rory admitted that this change could benefit his chance of winning The Open. Because of his decision, the Scottish Open will give him some competitive preparation. And this will aid him even more since McIlroy is also a little rusty. He put his family before practice, knowing that he will be away from them for at least six weeks.

The Irish and Scottish Open will give Rory some decent competitive practice before the final major title of the year. And this is what he believes as well.“So this will be a nice week to get myself back into it and put the head down and practice. There are great facilities here to do what I need to do and get some good work done and feel ready to go, not just for this tournament but for the next few weeks coming up.”

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