Taking time off the golf course, and that too just before the Masters, you’d think the defending champion, Rory McIlroy, might be practicing. No, he’s out there in Miami, enjoying the Miami Open. He attended the showdown between Casper Ruud & Ethan Quinn and Coco Gauff & Elisabetta Cocciaretto. The welcome he got at Hard Rock Stadium was special, too.

As the camera spotted him amid Ruud vs. Quinn, the tournament commentator added, “Golfing royalty Rory McIlroy is in the house, and there’s a connection between Rory and Casper because Casper is a golf fanatic.”

McIlroy was there to support the Norwegian star, Casper Ruud. McIlroy has previously taken time out of his busy schedule to support the Norwegian star. McIlroy showered support on Ruud after his first-round win at the 2025 US Open against Sebastian Ofner.

Ruud congratulated the five-time major champion after his Masters win. His enthusiasm for McIlroy also made several fans point out that his favorite golfer’s win might even motivate him to aim for a career Grand Slam in tennis. Ruud has also long been open about his love for golf. He even has an Instagram handle dedicated to his stints in golf.

“[In golf] you get to travel around and play the nicest courses in the world. Sometimes I dream that I could play in a tournament on the PGA Tour or European Tour. Sponsor’s exemption—that would be a dream moment for me,” Ruud stated, highlighting his love for golf. “It would be awesome to see how far I could go in golf.”

McIlroy, on the other hand, is a fan of tennis. He plays it while he is on the road and has even attended Wimbledon. In 2024, after opening his FedExCup Playoffs campaign with a 2-under 68 at TPC Southwind, McIlroy played tennis with Wiley Barron, son of Champions Tour major winner Doug Barron.

While representing Ireland at the men’s Olympic golf competition in Paris, McIlroy made time to attend the tennis games. He caught a doubles match between Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal and Rajeev Ram and Austin Krajicek.

Meanwhile, McIlroy is currently carefully managing a lingering back issue that forced him to withdraw from the Arnold Palmer Invitational. It visibly disrupted his buildup to the Players Championship, where he finished tied for 46th position.

As Rory McIlroy now prepares to add another green jacket to his collection, he might be taking a page out of tennis maestro Roger Federer’s book to keep himself motivated.

How Roger Federer’s words reshaped Rory McIlroy’s vision after the Masters win

While McIlroy was failing to concentrate on his gameplay, a lesson he learned from the Swiss legend. That is, to continue focusing on events that genuinely matter to him.

“I want to go and play in different places in the world and experience things I haven’t experienced before, to be able to do things for the first time 18 years into a career. I had a chat with Roger Federer a few years ago, toward the end of his career, and he said he wanted to play in places he never had a chance to, some smaller events, just because many people had never seen him play tennis before,” shared the five-time major champion.

McIlroy then reflected on how he is planning to contribute to the sport in the coming days. He shared that he has decided to concentrate on his gameplay only at a few locations that he loves. However, he stated that majors and the Ryder Cup will continue to hold important positions in his life.

Unfortunately, Ruud lost the match to Quinn after a 4-6, 6(7)-7(9) battle.