McIlroy Says He Won't Miss 2020 Irish Open In Rumoured May Date

The four-time Major winner seems fairly certain that he will return to the Irish Open next year

McIlroy Says He Won't Miss 2020 Irish Open In Rumoured May Date

Rory McIlroy is wrapping up what is arguably his best calendar year since 2014 after winning three times on the PGA Tour in 2019 including the FedEx Cup.

The four-time Major winner was named as the PGA Tour's Player of the Year, voted by his peers, after those three wins and ranking 1st in Strokes Gained: Total, Off the tee and Tee to green.

He also led the PGA Tour's Scoring Average statistic for the year too.

The Northern Irishman focused more on his Stateside golf this year now that he is based in Jupiter, Florida and it paid off, with his ranking increasing to 2nd in the world and his bank balance increasing by over $24m in on-course earnings.

One controversy from his 2019 schedule was the omission of the Irish Open, which he skipped to better prepare for the Open Championship at Royal Portrush.

In a media call after being named as the PGA Tour's Player of the Year, Rory confirmed that he would be playing mainly in America again next year but said that he won't miss the Irish Open twice in a row.

He also revealed that it looks to be moving to May.

"I'm definitely going to repeat what I did this year," he said.

"Again, I think that winning the FedExCup, winning the PGA Tour Player of the Year, it's validation of what I decided to do at the start of this year, which was focus a lot of my efforts in the United States and on the PGA Tour for the first seven or eight months of the year.

"I don't think I'll miss The Irish Open for two years in a row.

"I saw that the dates changed to the end of May it looks like, and if that's the case, I will definitely make the trip.

"I will definitely make the trip back over for that event."

A new date and Rory McIlroy playing is definitely positive news for the tournament which has had to find a new spot in the schedule due to the WGC-FedEx St Jude Invitational moving to its date because of the Olympics.

Whilst nothing is confirmed, it is thought that the Irish Open will take place from 28th-31st May.

The venue hasn't yet been confirmed either but there are whispers is could be Mount Juliet, which hosted in 2005.

With the move away from July and the links swing, it would make sense for it to go back to one of Ireland's many great parkland courses.

If that date is correct, McIlroy will likely play five weeks in a row with a stretch of: Irish Open - Memorial Tournament - RBC Canadian Open - US Open - Travelers Championship.

The Memorial, Jack Nicklaus' tournament, is one of the biggest outside of the Majors, and McIlroy said he would return to Canada to defend his title.

He has also already committed to the Travelers Championship.

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