U.S. Open champion Rory McIlroy will be honored by the San Francisco Giants ahead of his defense next month at Olympic Club.
The ball club will celebrate Irish Heritage Night on June 12, two days before the start of the U.S. Open, when the Giants host the Houston Astros.
McIlroy will throw out the ceremonial first pitch that night and will be immortalized in the form of a bobblehead distributed to fans. His bobblehead will don a Giants hat and logo on an orange shirt, while leaning on a golf club.
Ahead of this week’s BMW PGA Championship in England, McIlroy admitted being nervous about the throw because of his lack of experience with the game.
“I’ve got a few friends coming over to San Francisco, so it will be a nice night on a Tuesday night to sort of take my mind away from the golf a little bit and have a bit of fun, and obviously throw the first pitch at a baseball game, that’s something I’ve never done before,” he said. “Just need to start practicing. I don’t really want to make a fool of myself.”
He practiced throwing of a different sort Thursday at Wentworth, when he tossed his club in frustration at the 12th hole en route to 2-over 74 in the first round of the European Tour’s flagship event.