Rory McIlroy finds distractions during search for lost form

RORY McILROY has flown to South Korea but that is not far enough to escape the talk of severed alliances.

Rory McIlroy is taking legal action against his former management company

RORY McILROY has flown to South Korea but that is not far enough to escape the talk of severed alliances.

As lawyers picked over the break-up of his relationship with his management company, the reported split from his tennis-star girlfriend led to sore thumbs in the Twittersphere and a denial from Caroline Wozniacki. It has been a hell of a year.

The Ulsterman is desperate to find some form as he hits the Tour of Asia, but his acrimonious departure from Horizon Sports Management will drag on until the end of next year.

McIlroy's lawyers were in court in Dublin yesterday to seek a fast-track hearing into his decision to end a five-year deal in favour of setting up Rory McIlroy Incorporated. They failed and the case will now be heard in October, 2014, just after the Ryder Cup.

It looks like being a bitter bunfight that is unlikely to bring the peace of mind many feel he needs to exhume his best form. The public scrutiny of his private life is another irritation.

Wozniacki's dismissal of Irish media reports is not the first time the couple have tried to distance themselves from gossip, but with even Gary Player suggesting McIlroy needs a wife "to dedicate her life to his success", it is proving hard to escape the cult of celebrity.

McIlroy and Wozniacki are both former world No?1s, Posh and Becks in jumpers, and a quiet life is never going to be possible. "There was nothing in it," the Dane said yesterday, but the suggestion that McIlroy has taken his eye off the ball is unlikely to be quashed when the court case is finally heard.

Given the global recession and the sums involved, the gripe that Horizon paid UNICEF, the children's charity,  104,000 pounds ($174,698) without his knowledge, has potential for severe embarrassment.

McIlroy also claims that Horizon exploited and misled him, and that he signed his original contract in 2011 on the day of the Christmas party in "circumstances of great informality".

Peter Alliss, the commentator, immediately posted a tweet that hints at where sympathies may lie when the case is heard - "They apparently made him sign while Santa was handing out the toys to distract him."

Horizon's barrister said a counter-claim would be made, given that McIlroy signed a contract extension in March that expires in 2017. The company also issued a statement that portrayed McIlroy as being rich and ungrateful. It read: "Since October 2011, under Horizon's management, Rory McIlroy has signed some of the most lucrative endorsement contracts in sports history, in addition to achieving significant success on the golf course. Today, he is one of the world's most highly remunerated sports people."

McIlroy alleges that Horizon and Conor Ridge, the company founder, "were primarily concerned with maximising their own share of any commission" and is seeking to recoup some of the fees paid.

The Times