Driving from Los Angeles Country Club in California to TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Connecticut, covers 3,055 miles and would, according to Google Maps, take you about 58 hours to complete by car.
Needless to say, after Rory McIlroy lost the U.S. Open by one shot to Wyndham Clark, emptied his locker and packed his bags on Sunday, he was not hitting the road and driving to the following week’s Travelers Championship. McIlroy stayed in Los Angeles that night, had a few glasses of red wine with dinner and headed to bed before flying east on Monday morning. However, the four-time major winner went home to Florida instead of Connecticut to see his family, get some rest and recover.
“I try to get into the time zone where I’m going as quickly as possible,” McIlroy said Wednesday evening at TPC River Highlands. “I didn’t do a good job of that on Monday night because I started watching TV, and all of a sudden it was midnight [in Florida] and it was 9 p.m. back there and I didn’t feel tired.”
Many of the game’s best players have descended upon Royal Liverpool Golf Club after flying across Asia, Africa, and Europe. They have come from Australia, South America and North America too, and must recover quickly to be at their best on Thursday and contend for the Claret Jug.