Rory McIlroy has expressed a desire for closure to the legal dispute with his former management company, as the world No1 reflected on an occasionally “nasty” and “tedious” affair.
Barring a late settlement, McIlroy and the Horizon management firm are scheduled to appear in Dublin’s commercial court from Tuesday. The hearing, which would be expected to take a number of weeks, is reckoned potentially to be worth tens of millions of pounds in disputed fees.
McIlroy is suing Horizon and two other companies, claiming an agreement signed by him almost three years ago is invalid and unenforceable. The companies deny this and are counterclaiming for what they allege are outstanding fees.
Speaking in Dubai, where McIlroy is competing in the Desert Classic before flying to Ireland on Monday, the 25-year-old admitted to the awkwardness of a dispute which has lasted for almost two years. He could take to the witness box as early as Tuesday.
“It’s not something that I would want anyone to go through,” McIlroy said. “It’s a very tedious and nasty process at times.
“Look, I’m going to be heading to the States [at the end of February] regardless, with it off my mind and not having to deal with it or think about it, that will be it. It will be nice once it’s over and done with.
“I’ve been concentrating on this [TOURNAMENT]and practice and that stuff’s much more important to me than what’s going to happen next week. After this tournament’s over, I’ll have to do my homework a little bit but at the same time, I’m fully focused on this event and golf and try to do the best I can this week.”
McIlroy’s body language has never suggested anything close to deep-rooted concern over how the legal scenario might play out. In itself, that is a cause for intrigue.
“I am lucky,” he explained. “I have a great team around me now who filter a lot of it for me. They are taking a lot of the burden away from me so I only have to look at the bare minimum and that allows me to concentrate on golf. I am lucky to have those around me who do that.
“I will have to turn my attention to it at some point but I want to put in a good performance here, try to win and once I play this tournament I will concentrate on what I have to do there. Hopefully it won’t take that long, it will be over and done with and we can all move on with our lives.
“It’s not really something I would want anyone to go through. It is not a nice process, it is a shame that it has gone this far but it’s hard when two sides sort of see things completely differently. It is what it is, the only way to sort it out is to get a judge in to sort of tell us what to do.”
In a golfing sense, McIlroy is looking to end a run of three runners-up places in succession in European Tour events. “In the right way,” he was quick to add.
McIlroy explained: “I’m disappointed if I don’t win, to be honest, but I think everyone should feel that way. I don’t think that is just me. You come here to try and win events. You aren’t here to try to finish in the top five.
“I have four days to try and get back on the victory trail. It feels like a long time since my last win so it would be nice to get another one pretty soon.”
With the bigger picture in mind, this is McIlroy’s last event outside of the United States before the Masters, where he will seek to complete a historic collection of all four major championships, something only five players have achieved. The appearance of Tiger Woods – one of that quintet – and Phil Mickelson on the PGA Tour this weekend, by McIlroy’s own acknowledgement, has heightened the sense of an Augusta countdown already being under way.
“I am trying to make everything in my game as good as it possibly can be but there are a few things that, say, if Augusta was to roll around next week, I would be happy going there and knowing I am hitting the ball the way I want to.”
“I think it is important to put in some good performances before that. To get into contention and feel what it is like in the heat of the moment because that is when you really know how your game is and how it holds up under some pressure.”
Amid suggestions Miguel Ángel Jiménez may launch a late challenge to Darren Clarke for the 2016 Ryder Cup captaincy, McIlroy admitted to a vested interest if little concern about the Spaniard pipping his compatriot to the role. “I am going to be a little biased,” McIlroy said. “Darren is a good friend of mine and from Northern Ireland so it would be great to see him get the captaincy.
“But if it was to be Miguel, I would have no problems with that either.”
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