Rory McIlroy is certainly making the most of his time in Europe, with a return to form on the course, a vacation and now a visit to the ISPS Handa Senior Open.
After a slump following his win at The Masters in April, the PGA Tour star has rediscovered his touch on the course in his two events outside the US this month – a T2 at the Genesis Scottish Open and T7 at The Open in Northern Ireland a week ago.
Following that performance in his homeland, the five-time Major winner doesn’t appear to be in any hurry to return to the US, with his next playing commitment not coming until the FedEx St. Jude Championship, which begins on August 7th.
Days after the Royal Portrush Major, a video emerged of McIlroy enjoying a break in St Tropez in France, and now he has been spotted at Sunningdale in Berkshire, England, to take in the action in the final round of the senior Major.
The DP World Tour released a short video showing McIlroy at the course on Sunday, looking relaxed and having a photograph taken with a fan.
Rory taking in the final round of the ISPS HANDA Senior Open at Sunningdale 👀#SeniorOpen pic.twitter.com/eUbvElZbPvJuly 27, 2025
On the course, Irishman Padraig Harrington claimed his maiden Senior Open title, winning by three over Justin Leonard and Thomas Bjorn.
It’s no surprise that McIlroy is ensuring he has plenty of downtime before the cut and thrust of competitive action begins again.
After The Open, he suggested he would be enjoying his time off while he is in Europe, saying: “I feel like being back in Europe for a bit was a nice reset. Yeah, I feel like I'm getting back to where I want to be, and we've still got a lot of golf left this year with obviously Ryder Cup being the big one in there in September.
“And just make sure I'm - I don't want to play too much leading up to that because I want to be fresh. So I'm looking forward to a few weeks off here. I'll reflect on what's been already a good year and start to get myself ready for that run up to the Ryder Cup.”
As McIlroy mentioned, there is still plenty of golf ahead for him to focus on in the coming months.
First will be the FedEx Cup Playoffs, beginning with his next scheduled appearance at the TPC Southwind event.
McIlroy will then return to Europe in September for more golf, including the Irish Open and the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth in Surrey, which is close to his newly built family home.
After that, it will be back to the States for the biennial Ryder Cup, this year at Bethpage Black, where he will be a key member of the European team hoping to retain the trophy it won at Marco Simone in 2023.
He is then expected to play at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland in October, before his first-ever start in India at the DP World India Championship ahead of two events in the United Arab Emirates for the climax of the DP World Tour’s Race to Dubai.
He will finish the year with an appearance at the Australian Open in December.
Little wonder, then, that McIlroy is making the most of being a spectator while he can.
