Rory McIlroy traded the fairways for the hard courts. Less than three hours after wrapping up at the Tour Championship in Georgia to conclude the PGA season, the Irishman was spotted among tennis fans at the U.S. Open on Sunday night.

More than the straight-set win, Carlos Alcaraz's striking new buzzcut and the golf-swing celebration triggered a roar from the crowd.

Spanish Tennis player Carlos Alcaraz played a mighty golf swing to acknowledge the presence of Golf legend Rory McIlroy amid his US Open 2025 opening match. In a video shared on social media, the youngster swung his tennis racket as if it was a golf cart as McIlroy was seen smiling after the cameras panned to him.

The US Open posted a video of a short clip of Tiafoe seeing Alcaraz’s new cut with a less-than-approving look. Alcaraz was sporting a new buzzcut when the American tennis star saw him. “Yeah, it’s horrible. It’s terrible,” Tiafoe said when asked about the clip during his post-match press conference.