Rory McIlroy admits he is looking forward to taking a break ‘mentally’ as he prepares to head back to the UK following a whirlwind few months Stateside.
The Northern Irishman has been in the headlines for contrasting reasons since his win at the Masters in April, which saw him become only the sixth male golfer in history to achieve a career Grand Slam.
After ending his 11-year major drought in Augusta, McIlroy has been unusually frosty towards the media at competitions which have followed, having skipped interviews while struggling for form at both the US Open and PGA Championship.
McIlroy also lost his cool in astonishing fashion at the former tournament after hurling his club in the air and smashing a tee marker after two disappointing shots.
And following his sixth-place finish at the Travelers Championship over the weekend, McIlroy is now set for a two-week break across the pond with wife Erica and their four-year-old daughter Poppy.
‘I think more so than anything else it’ll just be good for me mentally to take a little bit of a break and get back to my neck of the woods, get back to the U.K. for a little bit,’ he told reporters after his final round on Sunday, via US Weekly.
‘I’m excited for that and I’ve alluded to the fact I probably haven’t taken enough time off or time to reflect after what happened in April.
‘So I’m excited to do a little bit of that over these next two weeks.’
Rory and Erica, who were briefly heading for a divorce last year before making a dramatic U-turn, are waiting for their new mansion to be built near the Wentworth Club in Surrey amid their plans to split time between both England and their current home in Florida.
Erica is said to be keen to move to the UK on a more permanent basis due to the lower temperature, with the upper New York native making her distaste for the heat well known.
Her wish for a cooler climate is set to be granted and the family – Rory, Erica, and their daughter Poppy – will be UK residents soon.
‘I feel like I live two different lives,’ McIlroy also told reporters on Sunday. ‘I’m a dad and a husband when I’m away from here, and then I’m who I am when I’m here. It’s always nice to get away and feel a bit of normality.’
Erica’s fondness for a more mild climate was touched on in the Netflix docuseries Full Swing when German golfer Martin Kaymer spoke with Rory about a time he bumped into the Irishman’s better half.
‘I saw her [Erica] at a Starbucks once, and she said, “I really don’t like the sun.” I said, ‘Your state’s called the Sunshine State [Florida], right?”
McIlroy continued: ‘If it was up to her, she wouldn’t move to England straightaway, but she definitely wants to spend more time there.’
The Masters champion and his wife had a rocky 2024, when McIlroy served her with divorce papers before they later announced the split was no longer going ahead.
At the time, rumors suggested that he was involved in a relationship with CBS Sports’ Amanda Balionis – a rumor which has neither been addressed by either of the two parties or confirmed.
