The tracking history of the Gulfstream jet that has taken Rory McIlroy from one place to another over the past few weeks allows for an interesting sighting: from Dublin to Edinburgh on the Monday after the Irish Open; then from Edinburgh (a start on Saturday after missing the cut at the Scottish Open) to Lydd in the south-east of England.

On Monday, McIlroy posted on his social media platforms an image of the BMW he had used for shorter road trips alongside the private jet that would take him from Lydd across the Atlantic for a stop fuel in Rochester, New York, then at home in West Palm Beach, Florida, for a week at home with his family.

McIlroy’s next flight will take him further around the world next week when he flies to Tokyo as part of an Irish Olympic team of four – which will also include Shane Lowry, Leona Maguire and Stephanie Meadow – for the men’s individual tournament at Kasumigaseki Country Club. which, aside from the prospect of winning a medal, will likely be used to build momentum for a season finale that will feature a WGC in Memphis and all three FedEx Cup qualifiers. Then there is the Ryder Cup to come.

In McIlroy’s own words after finishing at Royal St George’s, “I have probably four tournaments between now and the Ryder Cup, and I kind of want to focus on them first,” which would indicate that his priority is on this lucrative stretch. end of season events on the PGA Tour.

McIlroy also spoke of making “bad decisions” and “mental mistakes” in his disappointing play at the 149th Open. “I have to do a better job and maybe be a little more disciplined,” he admitted.

His time on this side of the Atlantic certainly did not produce the results he would have hoped for, as evidenced by his relinquishing the world top 10 to 15th in the last updated rankings. By May, he had also fallen to 15 (which was his worst ranking since turning 17 in November 2009) and had slipped back to seventh in May (after winning the Wells Fargo) before dropping ominously. .