By Cathal McNaughton
DUBLIN (Reuters) - Rory McIlroy and his former agents will return to court on Wednesday after lawyers for the world number one golfer asked for an adjournment as the two sides made progress that could potentially avoid an eight-week hearing.
The four-times major winner terminated his contract with Horizon Sports Management in September 2013 to form his own company, prompting a protracted dispute which forced McIlroy to take time away from the golf course to prepare for the case.
McIlroy's lawyer Paul Gallagher was granted two requests to defer the start of the case to "narrow the issues at hand" and returned to ask for an adjournment until 1100 GMT on Wednesday, telling the court both sides had made further progress.
Dressed in a navy blue suit and wearing black-rimmed glasses, the 25-year-old Northern Irishman arrived at Dublin's High Court on Tuesday to a scrum of some 30 photographers and camera crews amid intense international media interest.
After signing a number of lucrative sponsorship agreements, including a deal with Nike in early 2013 worth a guaranteed $100 million over five years, McIlroy decided that his relationship with Horizon was no longer in his best interests.
McIlroy, who will probably take the stand at some point, is suing his former agents over the "unconscionable" contract he signed, while Horizon are counter-suing him on the grounds that he owes them millions of dollars in commission on contracts up to 2017.
Irish bookmaker Paddy Power thinks it likely the case will be settled, offering odds of 1/3 on the two sides reaching agreement outside court and 9/4 on the trial being decided by a verdict.