Rory McIlroy admits his mind wandered in recent weeks as he prepares to become a father.
The Co Down golf star was close to his brilliant best on the course before the suspension of the PGA Tour amid the coronavirus pandemic.
McIlroy's form dipped following lockdown but he had as good an excuse as any - after it was revealed over the weekend that wife Erica Stoll is due to give birth to a baby girl 'any day now'.
"I didn't think it was something that I really particularly needed to share out there. It's a private matter, but we're really excited and can't wait for her to get here."
The news was broken on The Golf Channel's live broadcast of the BMW Championship on Friday evening and McIlroy explained that despite being in contention, he was ready to ditch the course as soon as he got a call.
The 31-year-old's caddie and long-time pal Harry Diamond was ready to take a call and alert McIlroy if it was time to leave for the birth of his daughter.
"I think from the get-go my mind has been wandering the last few weeks, and now you guys sort of know the reason why," he added.
"You're going out to play and maybe not knowing whether you're going to finish the round or not. Look, it's definitely not an excuse. I just haven't played well enough.
"But again, I keep talking about perspective. If you do play bad, I've got some awesome stuff coming up on the horizon, which is really cool, and it makes the bad days a lot easier to handle."
McIlroy, 31, met American Erica when she was working for the PGA of America and they married at a lavish reception at Ashworth Castle in Co Mayo in 2017.
