Golf superstar Rory McIlroy has touched down in Melbourne ahead of this week’s Australian Open at Royal Melbourne.
The reigning US Masters champion arrived in the early hours of Monday morning, with a small entourage and his own security detail.
Rory McIlroy at Royal Melbourne ahead of the Australian Open.Credit: The Age
The Northern Irishman travelled to Royal Melbourne, where he was expected to walk the course, on Monday afternoon.
The winner of five major championships last competed in the Australian Open in 2014, when Jordan Spieth won the Stonehaven Cup. The previous year McIlroy won an epic final round duel with Adam Scott to take the crown at Royal Sydney.
McIlroy has committed to playing the Australian Open for two years, including next year’s event at Kingston Heath, enticed by the opportunity to play Melbourne’s world-renowned sandbelt courses for the first time.
His visit, backed by the Victorian government, is seen as the biggest coup for Australian golf since Tiger Woods’ famous visit in 2009 for the Australian Masters.
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