Rory McIlroy puts dour PGA Tour season behind him with New York distraction

Rory McIlroy has shifted his focus away from golf to tennis after being spotted at the men's U.S. Open semifinal between Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe on Friday evening.

Despite securing victories at the Zurich Classic and Wells Fargo Championship, McIlroy's PGA Tour campaign did not quite live up to his usual high standards, culminating in a ninth-place tie in the FedEx Cup standings - a title he has won more times than any other player in PGA Tour history.

With the 2024 PGA Tour season concluding with last week's Tour Championship, the Northern Irishman has chosen to stay in the U.S. before returning to Europe and then heading to the Middle East for the final stages of the DP World Tour campaign.

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Taking a breather from golf, the 35-year-old was seen among the spectators at the All-American semi-final, where Fritz triumphed over his compatriot 4-6, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 at the Arthur Ashe Stadium. While McIlroy did not make a significant impact at the season finale in East Lake, there were several highlights throughout the year.

In addition to his two wins, the Northern Irishman came tantalizingly close to clinching his fifth major title and first since winning the PGA Championship at Valhalla in 2014. His opportunity arose at the US Open at Pinehurst No. 2, where he was leading by two shots with just five holes remaining.

McIlroy's hopes soured down the final stretch though, as he carded three bogeys in his last four holes, allowing Bryson DeChambeau to clinch victory by just one stroke. The defeat was a bitter pill to swallow for McIlroy, who missed crucial short putts on the way to losing his lead.

Reeling from the loss, the four-time major champion quickly left the Pinehurst shite, before announcing a three-week break from competition in a statement the following day. Reflecting on the incident over two months later at the Tour Championship, McIlroy cited his US Open disappointment as a factor in his sluggish end to the season.

"It's been a long season," McIlroy remarked last Sunday. "And I'm going to just have to think about trying to build in a few extra breaks here and there next year and going forward because I felt like I hit a bit of a wall sort of post-US Open, and still feel a little bit of that hangover."

Now, McIlroy is setting his sights on another Race to Dubai title on the DP World Tour. He disclosed plans to play five more events this winter, including the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship where he'll join forces with his dad Gerry in the Pro-Am. His season will wrap up in November at the DP World Tour Championship.