Rory McIlroy showed no signs of an emotional hangover as he prepared for the US Open after calling off his divorce… but what drama lies in store as he reunites with Scottie Scheffler?

On Wednesday afternoon, Rory McIlroy was fine-tuning his US Open preparations – firing iron shots over the rolling hills of the Pinehurst practice area – when Scottie Scheffler walked past. The couple hugged each other. ‘Nice playing again, boy. Very good!’ McIlroy said.

He congratulated Ted Scott, the caddy who guided Scheffler to his fifth win of the season last week. As Scheffler headed out to sign some autographs and hit a few putts, he turned back to McIlroy. ‘See you tomorrow!’ shouted the world number 1.

It raised a few questions: What do they have in store for Thursday? What more drama and chaos can they throw at us this week?

McIlroy and Scheffler will be reunited on the first tee Thursday afternoon, two-thirds of a blockbuster group that also includes PGA champion Xander Schauffele. World numbers 1, 2 and 3. They will be the focus here for the first two days. They are used to that by now, of course.

This tournament begins almost a year after the PGA Tour and the Saudi PIF first announced a shock merger. Since then, McIlroy has remained on the front lines of the Gulf Civil War. Since then, Scheffler has built a string of remarkable dominance over his rivals.

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler signs autographs for supporters at Pinehurst No. 2 on Tuesday

Still, it’s all fairly tame compared to the circus of recent weeks, when these two played a leading role again. The chaos began in April, when Scheffler cruised to a second Masters victory despite standing one foot outside Augusta all weekend as his wife Meredith prepared to give birth to their first son.

Less than a month has passed since news emerged that McIlroy had filed for divorce from his wife of seven years, Erica Stoll, just days before the PGA Championship.

By the end of that week, Scheffler had been put in the back of a police car, dressed in an orange jumpsuit, charged with a crime, and then escorted back to Valhalla in time to turn. At least for once he wasn’t at the top of the leaderboard.

As McIlroy joked this week, “The only thing that kept him from winning a golf tournament was spending an hour in jail.”

Scheffler’s case continued for a few weeks until all charges against the world number one were dropped. Much of the noise surrounding McIlroy and his private life also began to quiet down.

The Northern Irishman appeared in good spirits as he played alongside Martin Kaymer

The two European players try to get to grips with the dangerous greens of Pinehurst No. 2

And then DailyMail.com revealed on Tuesday that the Northern Irishman’s divorce had fallen through. Just when golf threatened to take the leading role again.

Instead, eyes were on McIlroy’s left hand when he returned to training on Wednesday. There was no wedding ring, but no sense of any emotional hangover. Not the way he warmed up or the way he hugged Scheffler.

At the shooting range, McIlroy was flanked by his caddie, Harry Diamond, and his manager, Sean O’Flaherty. Every now and then he hit a shot. But the Northern Irishman spent most of Wednesday’s practice session laughing and joking with his team.

Finally, McIlroy headed to the first tee for one last drive around Pinehurst No. 2 before Thursday’s opening round. He got a huge ovation and he seemed to be having a good time too.

McIlroy jokes with coach Phil Kenyon as he refines his preparations for third major of 2024

The Northern Irishman will play with Scheffler and Xander Schauffele in rounds one and two

The 35-year-old believes he is ‘closer than ever’ to ending his decade-long wait for a fifth major. So it was rather fitting that he played Wednesday’s practice round alongside Martin Kaymer.

The German was the last man to win the US Open here, in 2014. Scheffler is widely expected to triumph this time. But McIlroy is looking forward to it too.

“Rory’s going to win this thing,” one fan shouted after the Northern Irishman directed his approach to within feet of the first hole.

The crowd screamed again on the second as he showed tremendous control around these dangerous greens. McIlroy gave them a performative club spin a few holes later when he holed a huge putt from deep in a hole.

He got a few reminders that this course won’t bend to his will so easily. But McIlroy smiled and chatted around Pinehurst as the sun’s glare softened for a moment.

This week it was confirmed that McIlroy’s divorce from Erica Stoll (pictured) has been called off

Scheffler was dramatically arrested by Louisville police during the 2024 PGA Championship

The spotlight won’t fade anytime soon and it would be another remarkable chapter of a crazy year if he were to triumph here.

However, the 35-year-old certainly has form. Ten years ago, he won just days after announcing the end of his engagement to Caroline Wozniacki. Two majors followed shortly afterwards. He shined again in 2022, even leading the PGA Tour’s battle against LIV Golf.

Even this year, he won twice in the weeks before news of his divorce broke and followed a T12 finish in Valhalla by finishing fourth at the RBC Canadian Open.

So maybe his time has come. Or perhaps Schauffele will emerge from the chaos to triumph again. Or perhaps more chaos awaits Scheffler and McIlroy. What is the opposite of tempting fate?