Inside Rory's McIlroy's NZ visit

By Cameron McMillan

World number three Rory McIlroy says he can’t wait to return to New Zealand after playing golf at three of the country’s most highly rated courses last week - with possible revenge on his mind after a defeat to Ryan Fox.

McIlroy revealed his intentions in October to head Downunder for a lads trip and spent part of last week in the Mangawhai region playing Tara Iti and Te Arai Links, including a match alongside a PGA Tour and Wall Street powerbroker.

McIlroy shared photos on Instagram with his 2.9 million followers, calling it the ‘trip of a lifetime’.

“I’ve wanted to play Tara Iti golf club for many years and I finally had the chance to do it this week. It exceeded expectations and so did the beauty of New Zealand. It truly was the trip of a lifetime. Thanks to everyone at @taraitigolfclub and @tearailinks for the wonderful hospitality. I can’t wait to come back again soon!,” the Northern Irishman said.

McIlroy and American Jimmy Dunne, who helped broker the PGA Tour’s deal with the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund, took on Fox and Jim Rohrstaff, the managing director at Te Arai Links, with the four-time major winner and multiple Ryder Cup champion coming out on the losing end.

Ric Kayne, United States private equity investor and developer of Te Arai Links and Tara Iti, walked with the foursome to watch the home team come out on top.

“We had a fun little battle out there,” Rohrstaff told the Herald.

“It’s so incredible to get two guys like Foxy and Rory together to play at your home club. Was pretty spectacular just to watch those guys, play the game the way they do, which is not human-like.

“To see Rory who, who might be the best driver of the golf ball in the history of the game, hit some tee shots, take lines out there, pretty unbelievable to watch. And the biggest takeaway for me, is Rory is exactly what you see.

“He is the nicest guy you’ll ever meet. Very humble, very understated. No sense of entitlement. Just a wonderful person. Exactly what you would think. That was great to see from one of the great athletes of our time.

“He’s wanted to come down and experience Tara Iti and Te Arai Links and the fact that he did this in his downtime just shows you that a) he does actually love the game of golf but b) that he genuinely wanted to get down here,” Rohrstaff added.

McIlroy has gone from the tranquil surroundings of Te Arai to the bright lights of Las Vegas to appear in the Showdown event today where he replaces teammate Dunne, a member of Augusta National, for Masters champion and world No 1 Scottie Scheffler.

They take on the LIV Tour duo of Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka at the Shadow Creek Golf Club.

McIlroy also rubbed shoulders with Te Arai member and All Blacks star Beauden Barrett.

McIlroy’s putting coach Brad Faxon, an eight-time PGA Tour winner in his own right and analyst for NBC Sports, was also down for the trip and joined him in posting a glowing tribute on Instagram.

“Coupling with the incredible golf, that is as good as anywhere in the world, are the people you will meet on your visit. Incredible service and food that is unique to the area, and delicious. The architecture on the homes and clubhouses and restaurants is also very different than the US,” Faxon posted.

Both Tara Iti and Te Arai Links hosted Lydia Ko and her husband Chung Jun for their honeymoon last year, when Ko shot a 63 from the women’s championship tees at Tara Iti including a hole-in-one at the par three second.

US Open winner Matt Fitzpatrick also recently spent his honeymoon at the resort.

The Te Arai Links South Course, designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, opened in October 2022 with the Tom Doak-designed North Course opening last October.

Tara Iti was ranked No 7 in Golf Digest’s ‘World’s 100 Greatest Golf Courses’ list this year with Te Arai Links North Course ranked 36th and the South Course 40th in their maiden appearances on the list.

The Te Arai Links resort includes 48 suites, 19 two-bedroom ocean cottages and six four-bedroom villas.

The accommodation is within a chip shot of the North and South Course, practice facilities and the world’s largest putting green, the Playground, all boasting views out to Little Barrier and Mokohinau Islands.

The new Ocean Restaurant overlooking the 18th green at the South Course recently opened.

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission