{"id":427280,"date":"2026-01-24T15:23:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-24T15:23:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/427280\/"},"modified":"2026-01-24T15:23:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-24T15:23:07","slug":"rory-mcilroy-backs-muirfield-for-open-return-despite-lowest-point-in-2013-rory-mcilroy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/427280\/","title":{"rendered":"Rory McIlroy backs Muirfield for Open return despite \u2018lowest point\u2019 in 2013 | Rory McIlroy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rory McIlroy has endorsed Muirfield\u2019s case for an Open revival despite reaching a golfing nadir<\/a> there when the major was last staged at the Scottish links in 2013. McIlroy declared he felt \u201cunconscious\u201d and \u201cbrain dead\u201d while en route to a missed cut in East Lothian 13 years ago.<\/p>\n

The refusal of the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers to admit women \u2013 a scenario that changed in 2017<\/a> \u2013 and the low attendance at Muirfield <\/a>on that last visit played a part in the absence of the Open. Yet the venue is still rightly regarded as one of the finest in the world.<\/p>\n

The R&A has yet to announce Open sites beyond St Andrews in 2027. Muirfield is at least part of that discussion and rightly so, according to McIlroy. \u201cIt would be wonderful if it was,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m not privy to those conversations, but Muirfield deserves to be back on the Open rota.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey rectified the issues they had. It\u2019s a wonderful course. It\u2019s one of the best courses on the rota and in the UK. As well, it has to commercially make sense. I think Mark Darbon [the chief executive] has been brought in to [the R&A] make the Open Championship commercially viable. I would say Muirfield, that area, North Berwick, that would probably be one of the more commercially viable opens.\u201d<\/p>\n

Portmarnock in Dublin is expected to stage the first Open outside the United Kingdom in the near future. A further and logistical complication with Muirfield is the staging of the Scottish Open at the Renaissance Club, which is essentially next door, on the previous week.<\/p>\n

Rory McIlroy suffered in the Open at Muirfield in 2013. Rounds of 79 and 75 meant he missed the cut. Photograph: Toby Melville\/Reuters<\/p>\n

McIlroy laughed when contemplating 2013. Rounds of 79 and 75 meant he exited at 12 over par. \u201cCould have been my lowest point in my professional career,\u201d said the Masters champion. \u201cI\u2019ve won an Open since then, I\u2019ve played well in the Open. Yeah, 2013 feels like a lifetime ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

Royal Lytham & St Annes has endured an even longer wait than Muirfield. The Lancashire links last staged the Open in 2012, when Ernie Els prevailed over Adam Scott in dramatic style. The 2029 Open will mark 50 years since Seve Ballesteros triumphed at Lytham.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith Birkdale this year, it would be very early to bring an Open back to that region in 2028,\u201d McIlroy said. \u201cThe Women\u2019s Open is at Lytham this year. Usually when the women\u2019s is somewhere, then the men\u2019s seems to follow pretty soon after. That could be the case.\u201d<\/p>\n

McIlroy was in fine fettle despite missing a short par putt on the 18th hole of his third round at the Dubai Desert Classic. His 71 for a three under par aggregate almost certainly leaves too much to do going into round four. \u201cIt\u2019s January,\u201d he said when asked to assess the state of his game.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am sort of working my way back into form a little bit. It is OK. It\u2019s not exactly where I want it to be, but it is early. I just want to go out and play a good round tomorrow and end the week on a positive note.\u201d<\/p>\n

Patrick Reed\u2019s 67 means he will take a four-shot lead into the final day at the Emirates Club. Spain\u2019s David Puig is the closest to Reed\u2019s 14 under par aggregate. Andy Sullivan and Viktor Hovland are at minus nine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Rory McIlroy has endorsed Muirfield\u2019s case for an Open revival despite reaching a golfing nadir there when the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":427281,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[71],"tags":[427,99],"class_list":{"0":"post-427280","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-golf","8":"tag-golf","9":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/427280","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=427280"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/427280\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/427281"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=427280"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=427280"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=427280"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}