World number 3, Rory McIlroy has announced that he would not participate in the Irish Open coming up in September. McIlroy, who lives in the United States, said that he would not like to partake in any international event for now, even though the Irish Open holds in his home country of Northern Island.

He also explained that he would be partaking in upcoming events for the next four weeks, including the US Open but would skip the Irish Open. Right now, he is preparing for the Northern Trust which is a FedEx Cup event that starts this week. Speaking on the situation, he said, “I’m planning to stay in the States, I don’t see myself travelling internationally for a while. I’m playing four of the next five weeks with that last week being a major championship.” He further pointed out that part of the reason for his non-participation was because fans would not be present: “It might be different if there could be fans there and stuff, but it’s behind closed doors and it’s not an Irish Open like we’re used to it being the last few years with obviously big prize funds and everything.”

Spaniard Jon Rahm, who won the Irish Open last year, has also said that he would not be around this year to defend his title, citing safety concerns. He revealed that he had no plans for now but would wait for the US Open to end before making any commitments while paying attention to COVID-19 guidelines.

In his words, “it’s rough flying public – having a mask on for 10-plus hours just doesn’t sound very good to me. Doesn’t sound healthy at all, so I don’t know what I’m going to be doing. Right now, I just don’t see myself going to Europe.” He admitted that the bigger issue on his mind was getting to see his family in Spain by Christmas.

Written by: Leon Osamor