Rory McIlroy completed a mad dash from Georgia to New York Sunday evening to catch the action on the court, rather than the fairways.
Less than three hours after Ryder Cup teammate Tommy Fleetwood sunk the winning putt, the Northern Irishman was spotted in the stands of Arthur Ashe as he soaked up the US Open.
The 36-year-old, who finished in a disappointing tie for 23rd at the PGA Tour’s season-ending TOUR Championship on Sunday, immediately jetted into the Big Apple from East Lake.
The five-time major winner was seen enjoying a lads’ night out as he watched Novak Djokovic opened his campaign at the Grand Slam with a straight-sets win over American Learner Tien.
McIlroy watched the 24-time Grand Slam winner cruise through to the second round of the tournament alongside two friends in Flushing Meadows .
It was a quick turnaround for the reigning Masters winner after he only teed off in the final round of the TOUR Championship at 12pm ET alongside Harry Hall.
Rory McIlroy completed a mad dash from Georgia to New York Sunday evening
After playing in the TOUR Championship, McIlroy soaked up the action at the US Open
McIlroy had headed into the final event on the PGA Tour’s seasonal calendar ranked second in the FedEx Cup rankings behind only world No 1 Scottie Scheffler.
However, he failed to translate that into a win down in East Lake, finishing tied-23rd in the 30-man field as Englishman Fleetwood stormed to his first ever PGA Tour victory.
‘I hit it better. The things that I wanted to improve on this week, I did,’ said McIlroy following the final round, via Golf Digest. ‘Off the tee was much better. I’m probably leading strokes gained off the tee.’
‘I just couldn’t get the speed of the greens all week, and I struggled to see lines and to feel the speed,’ he said. ‘That was really the story of the week.
‘My putting was so good last week at [the BMW Championship at Caves Valley], and then my off the tee play wasn’t good and it sort of just inverted. But my game feels close. It certainly isn’t far away.’
McIlroy will hope his game gets up to standard in the coming weeks when he tees it up back home in Ireland for the Irish Open and BMW PGA Championship on the DP World Tour after a week off.
While playing back across the pond on the DP World Tour, McIlroy will look to extend his lead in the Race to Dubai – the European circuit’s equivalent of the points-base rankings.
‘That’s become a pretty important thing for me,’ he said. ‘I’m chasing a little bit of history there. I want to put my head down and play well those couple weeks.
The Northern Irishman and his friends watched Novak Djokovic open his Slam with a win
36-year-old McIlroy finished in a tie for 23rd at the PGA Tour’s season-ending event
‘They’re sort of like two home tournaments for me, Ireland being my national open, and then we live pretty much on the course at Wentworth. Big couple weeks to try to play well but also sharpen up different aspects of the game going into the Ryder Cup.’
Then he’ll be making a return to New York when he gears up to take on Team USA for Luke Donald’s Europe once again.
And McIlroy will hope he can learn a thing or two from Djokovic on how to handle the feisty crowds in the Big Apple with the New Yorkers expected to bring a raucous energy to Bethpage Black next month.
McIlroy has joined Justin Rose, Tommy Fleetwood, Tyrrell Hatton, Robert MacIntyre and Rasmus Hojgaard as the first six to secure spots for Team Europe. The remaining six spots will be down to Donald as his captain’s picks.
