- Rory McIlroy and Tony Finau became childhood friends more than 20 years ago
- They will now play together at Pinehurst during the third round of the US Open.
An adorable video of a young Rory McIlroy talking about his friendship with Tony Finau emerged after the golf stars reunited at the US Open on Saturday.
McIlroy, 35, and Finau, 34, are now established professionals, but the Northern Irishman once stayed at the Utah native’s home as a child during a summer trip to the United States.
“They’re a really fun family,” a fresh-faced McIlroy can be seen in an old clip from PGA of Americawhen both golfers were competing in the 2004 Junior Ryder Cup.
“And I had a very good experience with them.”
With the pair playing together at Pinehurst, the clip went viral when it was posted by Rory McIlroy Trackerreceiving more than 110,000 visits at the time of writing this article.
Rory McIlroy and Tony Finau spoke about their friendship at the 2004 Junior Ryder Cup
McIlroy stayed at Finau’s house one summer when he was a child and the pair later became friends.
The old friends paired up Saturday while playing in the US Open at Pinehurst.
In the video, Finau also talked about her sweet friendship with McIlroy.
“I couldn’t wait to see him, and when I saw him at the hotel I was hugging him,” she said. And we were having a good time.’
McIlroy added in the old video that it was “special” to see his old friend, who he hadn’t been able to see in two or three years.
At the time of writing, the old friends are near the top of the field through five holes of the third round, with Finau tied for second at five under par and McIlroy not far behind at four under par.
McIlroy, who called off his divorce from Erica Stoll earlier this week, was still spotted without his wedding ring earlier this week while playing in North Carolina.
Rory McIlroy was caught without his wedding ring during the first round of the US Open
He dramatically scrapped his plans to separate from Erica Stoll, his wife of the last seven years.
McIlroy dramatically scrapped his plans to split from Stoll, his wife of the last seven years, after realizing his best future with three-year-old daughter Poppy in the equation is “as a united family”.
He addressed speculation surrounding his relationship status in a statement to The Guardian on Tuesday, saying: ‘There have been rumors about my personal life recently, which is unfortunate. Responding to every rumor is nonsense.
‘Over the past few weeks, Erica and I realized that our best future was to be a united family. Fortunately, we have resolved our differences and look forward to a new beginning.”