SAN FRANCISCO—Rory McIlroy is bringing an extra set of clothes to the Match Play Championship on Saturday in case he wins both his matches, only it has nothing to do with his appearance.
He can’t afford to waste any time if he wants to get to the Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight.
McIlroy has a pair of floor seats for the fight. If he wins Saturday morning and plays in the afternoon, he’ll be cutting it close. He already has filed a flight plan.
“Just a matter of whether I make it or not,” he said.
Here’s the plan: Win the match, change clothes, keep interviews brief, get to the airport.
“I’ve just been trying to take it one match at a time. This obviously takes priority over that,” he said.
And if he’s running late?
“I’ll probably try and sell my tickets and watching it on a big screen somewhere,” he said.
Facing elimination, McIlroy holed a 20-foot putt on the 17th to stay in the game. Another birdie followed to send it to overtime. And after another poor chip by Billy Horschel, McIlroy was on his way to the round of 16. AP