Maybe now’s the time to lose your shirt, gentlemen

IT was touted as an epic gladiatorial contest between two heavyweights. But as Rory McIlroy and Conor Ridge, CEO of McIlroy’s former management company Horizon Sports Management, pitched up outside the High Court on Monday, there were a few double takes when it became clear that they were almost identically kitted out.

With millions at stake, both men arrived at the Four Courts wearing tailored suits, blue check shirts and navy ties. The similarities were uncanny… but we reckon there’s a good chance that the settlement, under which McIlroy, right, reportedly paid €25m to Ridge, left, means Ridge can invest in a new shirt or two. Horizon Sports Management showed a profit of €379,311 in 2011.