“I was relieved Shane Lowry put me in the car” - Rory McIlroy opens up on altercation with Jim Mackay in the car park

Rory McIlroy has had to deal with a lot more than his performance on the course. His differences with Joe LaCava, and later with Jim 'Bones' Mackay, took up a lot of his time. Fortunately, he had Shane Lowry to help him through the difficulties.

In fact, Rory McIlroy was grateful that Lowry was there to keep his spat with Mackay from escalating for the worse. "I was relieved that Shane Lowry put me in the car," the Northern Irishman said at the post-event press conference.

These were some of his words, according to Sky Sports Golf:

"I was relieved Shane Lowry put me in the car, very relieved. He took me down to the call plunge in the hotel and let me cool off there for a few minutes."

When questioned by reporters, McIlroy also said he had apologized to Jim 'Bones' Mackay for his behaviour. He assured that "it was directed at Joe, but it was said at 'Bones'.

This is how he put it:

"I texted bones this morning. He was just the first American I saw after I got out of the locker room so he was the one that took the prompt of it. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. I texted Bones this morning and apologize for that... it was directed at Joe but said at bones, I guess. Joe wasn't there though."

Rory McIlroy also stated that there has been communication between him and Joe LaCava through text messages. The former explained that he still feels affected by what happened, but he is sure that both of them will be able to put it behind them soon after the Ryder Cup.

What's next for Rory Mcllroy?

The next event on the PGA Tour is the Sanderson Farms Championship, which begins next Thursday at the Country Club of Jackson, Mississippi. Rory McIlroy is not registered for this event.

The same goes for the next stop on the DP World Tour, the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at the Old Course of St. Andrews in Scotland. This tournament starts next Thursday and Rory McIlroy is not in the field.

All signs point to the Northern Irishman starting his season at the end of October, like he did last year. If he does so on the PGA Tour, the tournament of choice could be the ZOZO Championship in Chiba, Japan, although it is unlikely that Mcllroy will choose such a long trip for his first tournament of the year.

It is more likely that he will start at the World Wide Technology Championship in Mexico in early November. He could also opt to start in Europe, either at the Andalusia Masters in mid-October or the Qatar Masters a week later.

What can be said is that McIlroy will adjust his schedule to play in the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai from November 16-19. The Northern Irishman is the European leader heading into the event.