Rory McIlroy and his former agents will return to court on Wednesday after lawyers for the world No. 1 golfer asked for an adjournment as the two sides "made progress that could potentially avoid an eight-week hearing," according to Cathal McNaughton of REUTERS. McIlroy terminated his contract with Horizon Sports Management in Sept. '13 to "form his own company." McIlroy's lawyer Paul Gallagher was granted two requests to defer the start of the case to "narrow the issues at hand" and returned to ask for an adjournment until 11am on Wednesday, "telling the court both sides had made further progress" (REUTERS, 2/3). In London, David Brown reported Gallagher's request led to speculation that this was an "example of McIlroy's
cool-headed brinkmanship which has made him so successful on the golf course
and that a last-minute deal is being brokered." McIlroy, who is due to spend 10 days in the witness box, was reported to have offered £8M ($12.1M) to settle the case, avoiding weeks of
"adverse publicity and the revelations about his confidential sponsorship
deals."
As the case was adjourned McIlroy walked out of court "without looking at
Conor Ridge, his former agent." McIlroy can "afford to lose, but defeat could mean ruin" for Ridge "both
financially and reputationally" (LONDON TIMES, 2/3).
