Paul McGinley said last year that he wouldn’t get caught up in Rory McIlroy’s ongoing legal battle with his former management team, saying “a guy’s personal dealings is their own official business.”
It might not be so easy to separate the two things now, however, after McIlroy’s usual Ryder Cup partner was dragged into the courts.
According to the Irish Independent, McIlroy’s team is arguing that the former world No. 1 had “markedly inferior” conditions – a higher-level commission – compared to stablemate Graeme McDowell, despite assurances that they would receive similar terms.
In an updated post Wednesday, the Independent reported that McIlroy is also accused of “orchestrating” the timing of the lawsuit to coincide with McDowell’s wedding in the Bahamas. According to the report, Horizon Sports Management claims that McIlroy filed the lawsuit against the boutique firm on Sept. 27, 2013 – a day before G-Mac’s nuptials – to “inflict maximum reputational damage through the media,” and that McIlroy’s team had referred to the wedding date in emails as “D-Day.”
McIlroy has vehemently denied these claims.
McIlroy and McDowell have been partners at the World Cup, Seve Trophy and Ryder Cup (2010, ’12). With a tentative court date in late January 2015, it’s possible this legal battle could hover over the proceedings in Gleneagles.
