Rory McIlroy pulls out of Haiti humanitarian mission

OUT-of-form golf champion Rory McIlroy has pulled out of a humanitarian mission to Haiti because of playing ­commitments.

The two-time major winner, who is an ambassador for the children’s charity Unicef, was due to fly to the Caribbean island today to visit schools and community projects.

“Unfortunately, I have had to postpone my planned trip to Haiti with Unicef due to a change in my playing commitments,” the Ulster-born golfer said.

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McIlroy, 23, who is due to compete in the forthcoming Augusta Masters, has endured a difficult start to the year and has been struggling to find his best form after changing his club and ball manufacturers.

Last week, he was surpassed by American Tiger Woods as the world’s number one.

McIlroy has been a Unicef ambassador for two years and first visited Haiti in 2011 to see the devastation caused by the earthquake of 2010 which killed or injured thousands and left more than a million people homeless.

During that two-day trip, which came just weeks after his infamous Masters meltdown, he visited newly built schools, a maternal centre and camps in the country’s capital, Port-au-Prince.

In a statement released yesterday, McIlroy promised he would go back to Haiti.

“We are currently looking at dates to reschedule my trip and I look forward to visiting Haiti very soon,” the golfer said.

A Unicef spokeswoman said details of the rescheduled visit would be announced in due course.