Rory McIlroy breaks silence on divorce U-turn

He's opened up on his time away from golf after 'realising what was important'.

The four-time major winner spoke to host Patrick Kielty on the course at Royal County Down, where he is competing for his second Irish Open win this weekend.

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It has been a turbulent year both on and off the course for the Holywood native.

The 35-year-old dramatically missed out on the US Open title after lipping out a four foot putt on the 18th at Pinehurst in June.

Despite success at the Wells Fargo Championship in May, McIlroy made all the headlines for the wrong reasons when it was revealed he had filed for divorce from wife Erica Stoll.

The gossip was compounded by reports that the Northern Irishman was dating CBS Sports reporter Amanda Balionis, although those rumours were later found to be unfounded.

Court documents filed in Palm Beach County stated that McIlroy's marriage to Stoll was ‘irretrievably broken,’ with the 35-year-old Co Down golfer having filed the documents just three days before the start of the PGA Championship.

The pair got married at a lavish ceremony in Mayo’s Ashford Castle in 2017, just two years after getting engaged in Paris.

Earlier this summer, the news broke that McIlroy had made the decision to call off his shock divorce to his wife of seven years stating that he and Erica had ‘resolved their differences and look forward to a new beginning’ in a joint statement.

Speaking on the first episode of the new season of the Late Late Show last night, Mr McIlroy said: "I think sometimes life can get a lot and it can get too much.

"There’s been a lot going on this year, golf wise and then obviously personal wise as well. I had to take a little bit of a break and get away from the game more than anything else," he told Kielty.

"Golf and the business of golf had become all consuming for me for the last couple of years and I needed to take a bit of time away to realise what was actually important to me.

"Friends, family, enjoying myself, enjoying the fact you were this little boy in Holywood and you’ve grown up to be whatever it is that I am and I need to enjoy that time."

Kielty asked the pro golfer if his daughter might follow in his footsteps one day, to which McIlroy said: "We got her her first real clubs for her birthday this year.

"She’s taken a little bit of interest, if she did I would be 100pc supportive but at the same time I wouldn't mind if she did something different.

"It’s not just about being a sportsperson, there's all the rest of it that comes with it. Especially in this age of social media and all the stuff you have to deal with. So, if it’s your daughter you’re trying to protect her from that as much as you can."

McIlroy remains well placed going into round three at the Irish Open.

The world number three shot a one-under 70 yesterday, the highlight of which was an eagle at the par-five first.

He sits two behind leader Matteo Manassero, who reached six-under with a 66 that included two eagles.