Rory McIlroy backs Muirfield for Open return despite ‘lowest point’ in 2013
Ewan Murray at Emirates Golf Club Sat, 24 January 2026 at 12:04 pm UTC·3 min read Rory McIlroy has endorsed Muirfield’s case for an Open revival despite reaching a golfing nadir there when the major was last staged at the Scottish links in 2013. McIlroy famously declared he felt “unconscious” and “brain dead” while en route to a missed cut in East Lothian 13 years ago. The refusal of the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers to admit women – a scenario that changed in 2017 – and the low attendance at Muirfield on that last visit played a part in the absence of the Open. Yet...