After closing out the major season calendar, Rory McIlroy packed his bags and headed to the Mediterranean.
Immediately following The Open Championship at Royal Birkdale, McIlroy and his wife Erica Stoll flew out to Greece, joining close friend and fellow Irish golfer Shane Lowry, his wife Wendy and their two daughters Iris and Ivy.
The group was rounded out by McIlroy’s trusted caddie Harry Diamond and his wife Claire.
All told, it was a tight-knit Irish entourage letting its collective hair down in Paros, one of the most picturesque corners of the Greek archipelago.
Wendy gave the public a window into the trip through a series of photos shared on Instagram.
The group dined al fresco at the waterfront venue Barbarossa, sailed on a yacht through the Mediterranean Sea at sunset and chased each other’s kids around some of the most spectacular scenery in Europe.
The kids in tow included McIlroy and Erica’s daughter Poppy, as well as Diamond’s children, all getting equal billing on the timeline.
This is not the first time McIlroy and Lowry have tagged along on each other’s downtime. The two have been close since coming up through the ranks of Irish junior golf together.
Rory McIlroy Then Took A Detour to Ibiza
The 37-year-old turned up at Pacha in Ibiza, one of Europe’s most iconic nightclubs, where a fan captured him on video dancing to pumping music in a packed room.
Erica was notably absent for this particular clip. McIlroy appeared fully switched off from the pressure of professional golf.
McIlroy was not in unfamiliar territory. Last year, following his Masters victory that completed his career Grand Slam, McIlroy was filmed celebrating at a beach club in Saint-Tropez.
Rory McIlroy Not Losing Sleep Over FedEx Cup Playoffs
McIlroy currently sits 11th in the FedExCup standings. He is comfortably inside the top 30.
Thus, the star has been disarmingly candid about how little he values the format of the first two legs.
“It doesn’t matter where you are in the top 30 going into the Tour Championship,” he confessed after the final round at The Open. “It’s like, ‘I just need to be in the top 30 going in there to have a chance to win a FedExCup. So why would I care about the first two?’”
GettyRory McIlroy reacts on the fourth green on day four of The 154th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale.
Under the current format, all 30 players at the Tour Championship start at even par.
McIlroy won the FedExCup three times in 2016, 2019 and 2022. He won the Tour Championship in both 2019 and 2022.
So he is not keen on wasting energy participating in tournaments to make the 15-event exemption when he can enjoy time with family. His next competitive start is the FedEx St. Jude in Memphis, which is two weeks away.
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