Andy Murray brings up Rory McIlroy's US Open heartbreak in driving range chat

Andy Murray offered support to Rory McIlroy over his US Open heartbreak as the pair shared an embrace at Wentworth Golf Club on Wednesday.

The recently-retired tennis star played in the BMW PGA Championship Pro-Am at the Surrey course and bumped into his fellow sporting legend ahead of the event, which gets underway on Thursday.

McIlroy has endured a tough year and agonisingly missed out on a fifth major at the US Open as he bogeyed three of the last four holes to hand victory to Bryson DeChambeau.

The Northern Irishman then failed to make the cut at The Open in July before squandering a two-shot lead at the Irish Open at the weekend to finish as runner-up to Rasmus Hojgaard.

In a video clip posted to X by the DP World Tour, McIlroy approaches Murray as the tennis icon is lining up a ball on the driving range.

The pair exchange pleasantries as they shake hands and hug, with Murray beaming from ear to ear. And Murray goes on to exclaim: “I’ve been playing a lot of golf the last few weeks. Great job this year, it’s been tough but you’ve done super well.”

Murray has been able to spend more time on the golf course after bringing his tennis career to an end following the Olympic Games.

The 37-year-old missed out on the chance to clinch a medal alongside doubles partner Dan Evans in Paris as the duo were knocked out by American pairing Tommy Paul and Taylor Fritz in their third match.

McIlroy, meanwhile, will be looking to bounce back from his recent disappointments at Wentworth this week. “Felt like I was in control of the tournament for most of the day,” the 35-year-old explained after the Irish Open.

“Felt like I was playing really solid, doing what I needed to do, making a lot of pars, making the odd birdie. Then obviously the two bogeys on 15 and 17 opened the door for someone to have a good finish like what Rasmus did there on the last few holes.

“Missing the green right on 15 was the place that you can't go and just misjudged the speed with the first putt on 17. Overall, yeah, obviously really disappointed that I didn't win but I'll try to take the positives and move on next week to Wentworth.”

McIlroy previously took a short break from golf after his US Open setback and explained to fans in a statement: “As I said at the start of the tournament, I feel closer to winning my next major championship than I ever have.

“The one word that I would describe my career as is resilient. I've shown my resilience over and over again in the last 17 years and I will again.

“I'm going to take a few weeks away from the game to process everything and build myself back up”.