| Rory McIlroy MBE | |
|---|---|
| Personal information | |
| Full name | Rory McIlroy |
| Born | 4 May 1989 Holywood, Co. Down, Northern Ireland |
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[1] |
| Weight | 73 kg (160 lb; 11.5 st)[1] |
| Nationality | Northern Ireland |
| Residence | Carryduff, Co. Down, Northern Ireland |
| Career | |
| Turned professional | 2007 |
| Current tour(s) | European Tour |
| Former tour(s) | PGA Tour |
| Professional wins | 5 |
| Number of wins by tour | |
| PGA Tour | 2 |
| European Tour | 3 |
| Other | 1 |
| Best results in Major Championships (Wins: 1) |
|
| Masters Tournament | T15: 2011 |
| U.S. Open | Won: 2011 |
| The Open Championship | T3: 2010 |
| PGA Championship | T3: 2009, 2010 |
Rory McIlroy, MBE (born 4 May 1989) is a Northern Irish[2] professional golfer from Holywood in County Down. He has represented Europe, Great Britain & Ireland, and Ireland as both an amateur and a professional. He had a successful amateur career, topping the World Amateur Golf Ranking for one week as a 17-year-old in 2007. Later that year he turned professional and soon established himself on the European Tour. He had his first win on the European Tour in 2009, and on the PGA Tour in 2010. He represented Europe in the 2010 Ryder Cup.
On 19 June 2011, he won the U.S. Open, his first major. He finished with a record score of 16-under-par on his way to an eight-shot victory, as the youngest winner since Bobby Jones in 1923. He has been cited as the most exciting young prospect in golf and having the potential to become one of the highest earners in sports in terms of endorsements.[3][4][5] The victory lifted McIlroy's position in the Official World Golf Ranking to a career high of number four.[6] In November, he finished tied for 4th at the WGC-HSBC Champions to move to a new career high of number 2.
McIlroy was born in Holywood, County Down, Northern Ireland. He is the only child of Gerry and Rosie (McDonald) McIlroy; he attended St. Patrick's primary school[7] and then the Sullivan Upper School.[8]
He was introduced to golf at an exceptionally young age by his father, who coached him from at least the age of 18 months.[3] Gerry McIlroy is a fine golfer himself, who once played at a scratch handicap level.[9] Young Rory gave early evidence of his golf potential by hitting a 40-yard drive at the age of two years.[10] Rory was very keen for the sport from the start, and asked his father virtually every day to take him to the golf course. Family lore relates young Rory receiving a new golf club as a present, being shown the correct grip by his father, then taking the club to bed with him that night, with his hands holding the club properly. A video on golf technique produced by champion Nick Faldo was his early favourite.[11] Once Rory's golf talents started to show, Gerry McIlroy held down several jobs to earn additional income for his son's golf development, and his mother Rosie worked extra shifts at the local 3M plant.[12] His first significant international victory came in the World Championship for the 9–10 age group bracket at the Doral Golf Resort & Spa in Miami, Florida.[3][13]
McIlroy learned his early golf at the Holywood Golf Club, which he still retains as his home course.[14] Rory became the youngest club member at age seven.[15] Young Rory started his early training with Michael Bannon, previously the Golf Professional of Holywood Golf Club, who is also his current coach and dedicated mentor.[12]
McIlroy at age 15 was a member of Europe's winning 2004 Junior Ryder Cup team; the event was held in Ohio.[16] In 2005 he became the youngest-ever winner of both the West of Ireland Championship and the Irish Close Championship.[17] He retained the West of Ireland Championship in 2006 and followed that up with back-to-back wins at the Irish Close Championship.[18] In August 2006, he won the European Amateur Championship at Biella Golf Club, near Milan, Italy with the score of 274.[19]
In July 2005, at age 16, McIlroy shot a new competitive course record score of 61 on the Dunluce links of Royal Portrush Golf Club.[20] In October 2006, McIlroy represented Ireland in the Eisenhower Trophy, which is the Amateur World Team Championship. On 6 February 2007, he became the second man to top the World Amateur Golf Ranking, though he lost the top spot after just one week.[21]
In the fall of 2004, McIlroy signed a letter of intent to play collegiate golf at East Tennessee State University, but after his wins in 2005, he decided to forgo the golf scholarship and continue to play amateur golf in Europe.[22]
McIlroy shot an opening round of 3-under-par 68 at the 2007 Open Championship at Carnoustie, his first major championship entry. He shot +5 overall and was the highest finishing amateur, winning the silver medal.[23]
McIlroy was part of the Great Britain & Ireland team at the 2007 Walker Cup, held at the Royal County Down Golf Club.[24] On the first day of the event he was paired with Jonathan Caldwell for morning foursomes, and the match was halved. In the afternoon he faced Billy Horschel in singles, but Horschel won 1 up. On the second day McIlroy and Caldwell lost in morning foursomes by the score of 2 & 1. In the afternoon he faced Horschel in singles again, and this time he won by the score of 1 up. McIlroy's overall record was (1–2–1) in Win-Loss-Tie format. The United States came out victorious by a score of 12½ to 11½.[25]
McIlroy made his first appearance in a European Tour event a few days after turning 16, when he took part in the 2005 British Masters. He made the cut on the European Tour for the first time as a 17-year-old at the 2007 Dubai Desert Classic, where he had to forego prize money of over €7,600 due to his amateur status.[26]
McIlroy turned professional on 19 September, which was the day before the Quinn Direct British Masters, at age 17. He signed with International Sports Management.[27] At the British Masters, McIlroy shot 290 (+2), which put him in a tie for 42nd place.[28]
McIlroy finished in 3rd place at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in October. McIlroy became the youngest Affiliate Member in the history of The European Tour to earn a tour card.[29] The next week, he secured his card for 2008 by finishing in a tie for 4th place at the Open de Madrid Valle Romano.[30] On the 2007 European Tour season, he earned €277,255 and finished in 95th place on the Order of Merit list. He was the highest ranked associate member.[31]
Before his season started, Tiger Woods invited McIlroy to play in the 2007 Target World Challenge, held in December. McIlroy declined the invitation, preferring to play the European Open.[32]
McIlroy started his 2008 European Tour season at the UBS Hong Kong Open. He did not make the one-under cut.[33] He finished in a tie for 15th at the MasterCard Masters in Australia.
McIlroy entered the top 200 of the Official World Golf Rankings for the first time on 27 January 2008.[34]
On 7 September 2008, McIlroy took a four-shot lead into the final round of the Omega European Masters in Crans-sur-Sierre, Switzerland, but finished in a tie for first place with Frenchman Jean-François Lucquin after a play-off.[35]
McIlroy finished the 2008 season ranked 36th on the European Tour Order of Merit.[36]
After finishing second in the UBS Hong Kong Open in November 2008,[37] McIlroy attained his highest world ranking position of 50.[38] He finished the 2008 calendar year at 39th in the world rankings after finishing joint 3rd in the South African Open.[39] This earned him an invitation to the 2009 Masters Tournament. His first professional win came at age 19 when he won the Dubai Desert Classic on 1 February 2009, this win took him to 16th in the world rankings.[40]
In the 2009 WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, McIlroy reached the quarterfinals. In the first round he defeated Louis Oosthuizen 2 & 1, in the second round he beat Hunter Mahan 1-up, and in the third round he beat Tim Clark 4 & 3. He lost to Geoff Ogilvy, who won the tournament, in the quarterfinals 2 & 1.[41] McIlroy continued to play on the PGA Tour until May. He finished tied for 13th at the Honda Classic, tied for 20th at the WGC-CA Championship and tied for 19th at the Shell Houston Open.[42]
In April 2009, McIlroy appeared at The Masters in his first major tournament as a professional and his first Masters Tournament. He finished the tournament tied for 20th place, two shots under par for the tournament. Of the players to make the cut, McIlroy achieved the third highest average driving distance, beaten only by Dustin Johnson and Andrés Romero.[43] McIlroy played in two more events on the PGA Tour after the Masters including his first appearance at The Players Championship where he was cut.[42]
McIlroy then returned to Europe and recorded two top 25 finishes leading up to his first U.S. Open. He finished fifth at the BMW PGA Championship and 12th at the European Open.[44] McIlroy played in his second major as a professional at the 2009 U.S. Open. His final round of 68 (−2) helped him finish in a tie for 10th, his first top ten finish in a major. The following week, McIlroy finished in 15th at the BMW International Open.[44] McIlroy played in his first Open Championship as a professional in July and finished T-47.[42] He finished T-3 at the 2009 PGA Championship.[42]
McIlroy finished the 2009 season ranked second on the Race to Dubai, behind Lee Westwood, and in November he entered the top 10 of the world rankings for the first time.[45] McIlroy finished 2009 ranked 9th in the world.[46] In November 2009, McIlroy announced that he would join the American-based PGA Tour for the 2010 season.[47]
McIlroy accepted an invitation from Gary Player to participate in the 2009 Nedbank Golf Challenge at the Gary Player Country Club at Sun City, South Africa in December, but withdrew after feeling unwell. [48]
McIlroy finished 3rd at the 2010 Abu Dhabi Golf Championship. McIlroy failed to defend his title at the 2010 Dubai Desert Classic after shooting a round of final-round 73 to finish in a tie for fifth place.[49]
In the 2010 WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, McIlroy beat Kevin Na 1-up in the first round and then lost on a playoff hole to Oliver Wilson. After the Accenture Match Play Championship, McIlroy took time off from golf due to a sore back.[50] After a two-week break McIlroy returned in the 2010 Honda Classic and finished in a tie for 40th.[42]
On 2 May, McIlroy recorded his first PGA Tour win after shooting 62 in the final round of the Quail Hollow Championship. The round set a new course record, and concluded with six consecutive scores of three.[51] He became the first player since Tiger Woods to win a PGA Tour event prior to his 21st birthday.[52] The win earned him a two-year Tour exemption.[53] On 2 June, McIlroy played at the Memorial Skins Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio.[54] McIlroy finished T10 at the Memorial Tournament.[55]
On 15 July 2010, McIlroy confirmed his status as a favourite for the Open title on the Old Course at St Andrews by shooting a 9-under-par 63 on the opening day, the lowest-ever first round score in the 150-year history of the Open Championship, and tying the course record.[56] He missed a putt on the 17th, "The Road Hole", that would have given him the outright record.[57] His tied third finish in the 2010 Open Championship sent him to a career high world ranking of seventh.[58]
McIlroy missed out on a chance to win the 2010 PGA Championship when he three-putted the 15th green to fall out of a tie for the lead.[30] His final-hole birdie putt narrowly missed the hole to leave him a shot out of the playoff between Bubba Watson and eventual winner Martin Kaymer. McIlroy finished tied for third.[30]
On 4 October 2010, McIlroy won a crucial half-point to help Europe regain the Ryder Cup.[31] Following the Ryder Cup, he announced in November that he would return to play full-time on the European Tour, although he also stated that he would continue to play 11 or 12 tournaments in the U.S. per year. He attributed the decision to having closer friends on the European Tour, his part in the Ryder Cup victory, and wanting to be nearer his girlfriend and family.[59]
On 7 April, McIlroy shot a bogey-free 7-under-par 65 in the first round of the Masters Tournament in Augusta, Georgia to take the lead after the first day of the four-day competition.[60] He is the youngest player to ever lead the Masters at the close of the first day.[61] On Friday, he shot 69 to lead by two strokes over Jason Day with a 10-under-par score. On Saturday, he shot 70 to finish at 12-under-par, four strokes ahead of four other challengers. However, on the fourth and final day, he shot the worst round in history by any professional golfer leading after the third round of the Masters.[62] McIlroy scored one-over-par 37 on the first nine, and still had the lead, but shot a round of 80, finishing T15 at 4-under for the tournament.[42]
McIlroy failed to make the cut in his title defence at Quail Hollow in early May, was well off the pace at the BMW PGA Championship.[42] He held the 18 hole lead at the Memorial Tournament but finished in 5th place.[42]
McIlroy won the U.S. Open held at Congressional in Bethesda, Maryland on 19 June winning by eight shots over Jason Day. McIlroy set several records in his victory, most notably, his 72-hole aggregate score of 268 (16-under) was a new U.S. Open record. The 268 aggregate beat the previous record of 272 held by Jack Nicklaus (Baltusrol, 1980), Lee Janzen (Baltusrol, 1993), Tiger Woods (Pebble Beach, 2000), and Jim Furyk (Olympia Fields, 2003).[63] The 16-under in relation to par beat Tiger Woods' 12 under at Pebble Beach Golf Links in 2000.[5][64][65]
In preparation for the US Open, McIlroy practiced at Pine Valley Golf Club in New Jersey, rather than at Congressional, but did play two practice rounds at Congressional about a week before the start of the Open, after returning from a two-day trip to Haiti as an ambassador for UNICEF.[66][67]
On 17 June during the second round, McIlroy became the first player in the history of the tournament to amass a score of 13-under-par at any point in the tournament. He achieved the feat by making a birdie at the 17th hole in the second round. Despite a double bogey on the final hole, his two-day total of 131 (65–66, 11-under par) set a record as the lowest 36-hole total in U.S. Open history.[68] The score was one better than Ricky Barnes' 132 in 2009. He was also the fastest golfer to reach double digits under par in the U.S. Open, reaching 10 under par in 26 holes.[69]
On 18 June, during the U.S. Open's third round, he became the first player to reach 14-under par at the tournament by making a birdie at the 15th hole, on his way to a 54-hole U.S. Open record of 199.[70] In doing so, he also built an eight-shot lead going into the final round. A final round of 69 allowed him to claim his first major championship setting the 72-hole record.[71]
McIlroy took a month off from competitive golf.[72] At The Open Championship he struggled in tough weather over a difficult layout at Royal St George's Golf Club, failing to contend with the conditions.[73] He was again a non-factor at the PGA Championship at Atlanta Athletic Club after injuring his wrist on the 3rd hole of the first round after attempting to hit a ball behind a tree root.[74] McIlroy then went on to win the Lake Malaren Shanghai Masters in a playoff against Anthony Kim.[75] In December, he won the UBS Hong Kong Open by 2 shots.[76]
McIlroy employs the interlocking grip on full shots; this same somewhat rare method is used by Tiger Woods, the dominant star golfer of McIlroy's youthful years. Previous great champions who have used this grip included Jack Nicklaus, Tom Kite, John Daly, Gene Sarazen, Francis Ouimet, and Willie Anderson.
Darren Clarke, the veteran Northern Irish Ryder Cup player and winner of pro events around the world, met McIlroy when he was 12 years old, and has been a mentor to him since that time. Nick Faldo, six-time major winner, welcomed young McIlroy into his youth golf tournament series from his early teen years.[77] Graeme McDowell, the Northern Irish Ryder Cup player and 2010 U.S. Open champion who is ten years older, has helped and mentored McIlroy from his early professional years. McDowell frequently plays practice rounds at Tour events with McIlroy, and has seen his talents develop quickly. The two are close friends. McIlroy has recently obtained putting assistance and instruction from Dave Stockton, a retired PGA Tour star who won two major championships. Stockton is a renowned expert on putting who coaches several Tour players, and has written a well-received book on his techniques. Retired superstar Jack Nicklaus met young McIlroy when he was starting to play the U.S. Tour in 2009, and extended his friendship along with an early invitation to his Memorial Tournament, one of the Tour's most prestigious events. Nicklaus and McIlroy get together for lunch whenever possible, and Nicklaus reached out to McIlroy after his collapse in the 2011 Masters with some friendly advice on how to close out tournaments. Nicklaus has praised McIlroy and stated that he believes McIlroy has a very bright future in golf.[12]
McIlroy was managed by Englishman Andrew "Chubby" Chandler, a former European Tour player who founded International Sports Management. The pair split in October 2011,[78] with McIlroy joining Dublin-based Horizon Sports Management.[79][80]
McIlroy self-identifies as both British and Irish,[81] and carries a British passport.[82] When in Northern Ireland, he lives in a £2.2 million home near the town of Carryduff in County Down, about 20 minutes from Belfast. The land around his house also includes a custom-made practice facility, as well as a scaled-down football pitch.[83]
He is an Ambassador for UNICEF Ireland[84] and made his first visit to Haiti with UNICEF in June 2011.[85][86]
His great uncle Joe McIlroy was murdered by the Ulster Volunteer Force at his east Belfast home in November 1972.[7][87]
He is currently in a relationship with the Danish tennis player Caroline Wozniacki.[88]
McIlroy was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2012 New Year Honours for services to sport.[89][90]
|
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning Score | To par | Margin of victory |
Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 May 2010 | Quail Hollow Championship | 72–73–66–62=273 | -15 | 4 strokes | Phil Mickelson |
| 2 | 19 June 2011 | U.S. Open | 65–66–68–69=268 | -16 | 8 strokes | Jason Day |
|
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning Score | To par | Margin of victory |
Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 Feb 2009 | Dubai Desert Classic | 64–68–67–70=269 | -19 | 1 stroke | Justin Rose |
| 2 | 19 June 2011 | U.S. Open | 65–66–68–69=268 | -16 | 8 strokes | Jason Day |
| 3 | 4 Dec 2011 | UBS Hong Kong Open | 64–69–70–65=268 | -12 | 2 strokes | Grégory Havret |
| Season | Starts | Cuts Made | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top 10 | Top 25 | Earnings (€) | Money list rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 277,255 | 95 |
| 2008 | 27 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 10 | 696,335 | 36 |
| 2009 | 25 | 24 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 18 | 3,610,020 | 2 |
| 2010 | 16 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 11 | 1,821,050 | 13 |
| 2011 | 19 | 19 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 12 | 17 | 4,002,168 | 2 |
| Career* | 91 | 77 | 3 | 6 | 10 | 43 | 58 | 10,406,829 | 25[91] |
| Year | Championship | 54 Holes | Winning Score | Margin | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | U.S. Open | 8 shot lead | −16 (65–66–68–69=268) | 8 strokes | Jason Day |
| Tournament | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Masters | DNP | DNP | T20 | CUT | T15 |
| U.S. Open | DNP | DNP | T10 | CUT | 1 |
| The Open Championship | T42 LA | DNP | T47 | T3 | T25 |
| PGA Championship | DNP | DNP | T3 | T3 | T64 |
LA = Low Amateur
DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.
| Tournament | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accenture Match Play Championship | QF | R32 | R32 |
| Cadillac Championship | T20 | T65 | T10 |
| Bridgestone Invitational | T68 | T9 | T6 |
| HSBC Champions | 4 | 5 | T4 |
DNP = Did not play
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = tied
Yellow background for top-10.
Amateur
Professional
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Graeme McDowell |
RTÉ Sports Person of the Year 2011 |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
|
||||||||||