Rory McIlroy is confirmed to tee it up for the first time since his US Open collapse at the Scottish Open later this week.
The Northern Irishman, 35, stepped back from the golfing spotlight, taking time away from the course for the past three weeks following his implosion at Pinehurst and divorce U-turn drama.
The four-time major winner will officially make his return to golf in Scotland on Thursday after tee times for the last tournament before the Open Championship were revealed on Tuesday.
McIlroy is slated to begin his title defense at The Renaissance Club alongside European teammates Viktor Hovland and Robert MacIntrye at 8:28am BST/3:28am ET Thursday.
He will follow this week’s event with The Open at Royal Troon – his final chance of the year to end his 10-year Major drought.
Rory McIlroy is confirmed to tee it up for the first time since his US Open collapse
Holding a two-shot lead during the final round of last month’s major, McIlroy carded three bogeys across the final five holes – missing two putts from a combined distance of seven feet.
He fled the course a matter of minutes after Bryson DeChambeau wrapped up victory and announced less than 24 hours later that he wouldn’t be back at a tournament until the Tour descends on Scotland this week.
In a statement on social media, McIlroy said: ‘Yesterday was a tough day, probably the toughest I’ve had in my nearly 17 years as a professional golfer.
‘Firstly, I’d like to congratulate Bryson. He is a worthy champion and exactly what professional golf needs right now. I think we can all agree on that.
‘As I reflect on my week, I’ll rue a few things over the course of the tournament, mostly the 2 missed putts on 16 and 18 on the final day. But, as I always try to do, I’ll look at the positives of the week that far outweigh the negatives.
‘As I said at the start of the tournament, I feel closer to winning my next major championship than I ever have.
‘The one word that I would describe my career as is resilient. I’ve shown my resilience over and over again in the last 17 years and I will again.
‘I’m going to take a few weeks away from the game to process everything and build myself back up for my defense of the Genesis Scottish Open and The Open at Royal Troon.’
McIlroy was a picture of devastation after throwing the US Open away with two shocking putts
McIlroy announced on the eve of the major that he was calling off the divorce from wife, Erica
His US Open choke, which extended his decade-long major victory drought, came amid a turbulent time off the course too.
On the eve of the US Open, he announced he was calling off the divorce from his wife of seven years, Erica Stoll.
It was only a month prior, before the PGA Championship in May, that McIlroy announced that he and Erica were to split due to their marriage being ‘irretrievably broken’.
But on the Tuesday before the tournament, McIlroy said in a statement: ‘There have been rumors about my personal life recently, which is unfortunate. Responding to each rumor is a fool’s game.
‘Over the past weeks, Erica and I have realized that our best future was as a family together. Thankfully, we have resolved our differences and look forward to a new beginning.’
Just weeks after their recoupling, the pair appear to have truly rekindled their romance as they were spotted in a rare public sighting.
The McIlroys enjoyed a date night with the golfer’s Ryder Cup teammates and their partners in London Sunday night before presumably heading up to Scotland for this week’s event.
Diane Donald, the wife of victorious European captain Luke Donald, shared a photo of the group outing to her Instagram story with Sister Sledge’s ‘We Are Family’ playing over the top.
McIlroy (second back left) and Erica Stoll (fourth back right) enjoyed a night out with his Ryder Cup teammates and their partners in London Sunday night
McIlroy was seated next to Donald, who will carry out a second term at Bethpage in New York next year, but it’s unclear where in the British capital the gang of golfers were wining and dining.
Shane Lowry, Tommy Fleetwood, Nicolai Hojgaard and Tyrrell Hatton, who will be heading down to Spain for LIV Golf’s Andalucia event this week, were also gathered around the table.
Meanwhile, Stoll was seated further down the table, sandwiched in between Wendy Lowry and Diane, while Clare Fleetwood and Hojgaard’s girlfriend, Amanda Falkenberg joined them at the WAGs’ end.
McIlroy, Lowry, Hojgaard, Fleetwood and Hatton were all members of Donald’s team that humiliated the USA with a 16.5-11.5 victory in Rome last September.