Rory Settles, British Press Breathes Collective Sigh

Whether it was the prospect of their man under cross-examination or spending six winter weeks in Dublin when they could be in Palm Beach, you can feel the pleasure from Fleet Street now that Rory McIlroy has settled with Horizon Sports Management.

A BBC story has the settlement check written by McIlroy at $20 million (£13m) plus expenses, and most of the others stick with the same story.

Iain Carter offered this BBC assessment of the scene before the judge:

Unlike yesterday, McIlroy wasn't in court, but Horizon boss Conor Ridge was - and he breathed a big sigh of relief when the case was officially settled.

The story includes a short and drab statement about the settlement, which pretty much rules out any possibility they spent the last two days arguing over the wording.

James Corrigan of the Telegraph offers his assessment along with some figures.

But having already offered Horizon and its founder and majority shareholder, Conor Ridge, £8million to avoid a legal battle, it is believed that £15million was eventually deemed sufficient by the Dublin agency which negotiated McIlroy’s $100million five-year deal with Nike.

With the legal fees believed to be somewhere in the region of £5million, this will leave a sizeable dent in McIlroy’s bank balance. However, it will be soon be put right. As well as Nike, McIlroy has lucrative deals with Santander, Omega and

Omega? Really? I did not know what! Sorry...go on...

Bose which help him bring in approximately £18million per annum in off-course earnings and when put alongside on-course winnings which in 2014 neared the £8million mark then this pay-out does not even represent a year’s wages.

Ewan Murray of The Guardian also declared this a win for McIlroy because of the “pocket change” settlement, and congratulates McIlroy and his lawyers on their poker faces.

It is a source of intrigue as to whether or not McIlroy secretly knew a resolution could be found, or if he really did not have any fears over courtroom cross-examination. Even in the immediate prelude to Tuesday, McIlroy’s public demeanour was one of perfect relaxation.

Focus now returns to more routine business for the Northern Irishman. It was hardly coincidence that one leading bookmaker slashed his Masters odds to just 3‑1 as the courtroom news emerged. He was the favourite to prevail in Georgia anyway, but the removal of a key off-course issue cannot be deemed anything other than a boost to his cause.