Rory McIlroy adds his name to the list of great golfers that hail from Northern Ireland. He showed his talent from the early age of just two years and with specially modified Rory McIlroy clubs was driving up to 40 yards.
At the age of nine, he recorded his first hole-in-one and that same year 1998, won the Doral Junior under 10 World Championship. In 2006, at the age of 17, he won the European Amateur Championship in Milan.
Rory McIlroy – What’s In The Bag
Golfer Profile
D.O.B
Rory was born on the 4th of May 1989 in Hollywood, County Down, Northern Ireland.
Height
Rory is not a big man in stature, standing only 5 ft 9 in tall, or 1.75 m, and weighing in at 161 lbs, or 73 kgs. Despite the small stature, Rory packs a big punch and is known for his smooth swing which produces good long drives.
History
After a spectacular amateur career, Rory turned professional in 2007 at the age of 18 and quickly made his mark, becoming the youngest player to accumulate 10 million Euros.
In 2009, still only 19 years of age, Rory won his first professional tournament, the Dubai Desert Classic, and rose to 16th in the World Rankings.
On the 2nd of May 2010, Rory became the first golfer since Tiger Woods to win a PGA tournament before the age of 21. At the Quail Hollow Championship, he shot a final-round 63, finishing with six 3’s on his scorecard and setting a new course record.
Rory set the golfing world on fire in 2011 just four years after turning pro and aged 22, he won his first Major, the US Open.
His 16 under par, 72-hole, 268 total set a new record for the tournament 4 shot better than the previous record of 272 held jointly by Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Lee Janzen, and Jim Furyk.
The 2012 PGA Championship was the second major win for Rory. Winning by a margin of 8 strokes, he set a new record bettering the 7-stroke record of Jack Nicklaus set in 1980.
The pinnacle of Rory’s career has to 2014 when at the age of 25, he won his third major, The Open at Royal Liverpool. Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods being the only other players to win three majors by the age of 25.
The next major of 2014 was the PGA Championship played at Valhalla in Louisville, Kentucky. Beating Phil Mickelson by one shot, Rory secured his fourth major in back-to-back major tournaments.
Rory has also been a regular member of the European Ryder Cup team since 2010, which the Europeans have won four times.
Some Interesting Facts About Rory
- Rory has qualified to play both the European and United States professional tours. He still resides in Hollywood, County Down with a base in Florida in the United States.
- In 2017 Rory married Erica Stoll, and they have one child.
- He is nicknamed Rors or Wee-Mac.
- Rory became a member of the Hollywood Golf Club at the age of seven and still considers this his home club.
- His father worked two jobs and his mother did extra shifts to be able to support his golf development and career.
With near misses in 2010 Open and PGA, Rory had a spectacular final-round collapse in the 2011 Masters. After shooting 65, 69, and 70 on the first three days and leading from the front, he started the final round four shots ahead of the field. He then shot a disastrous 80 in the final round to finish at 4 under and in joint 15th place.
What’s In The Bag?
In 2013 Rory McIlroy clubs changed from Nike to TaylorMade after Nike withdrew from equipment manufacture to concentrate on clothing.
Rory McIlroy’s clubs are as follows:
Driver – TaylorMade SIM2 With a Ventus Black 6X shaft.
Fairway Woods – TaylorMade SIM2 Ti 3, 15 degrees and 4, 18 degrees, these shafts are Mitsubishi Tensei CK pro-White TX.
Irons – 3-PW, TaylorMade P7MB with True Temper’s Dynamic Gold X7 shafts.
Wedges – TaylorMade Milled Grind 54 and 60 degrees with Project X Rifle 6.5 shafts.
Putter – TaylorMade TP Patina Juno.
Ball – TaylorMade TP5 #22.
Grips – Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord grips.
Predictions
After his 2014 PGA victory, Jack Nicklaus predicted many more major triumphs for Rory. Sadly, this has not been the case, but he has continued to compete and win tournaments. Rory has been consistently ranked in the top ten and been in and out of the number one spot.
As a past winner of the FedEx Cup, he is still a threat and offers good odds to challenge for the winner’s circle again.
Rory had some success late in the 2020/21 season and I suspect that he will have some more success in the upcoming season, watch out for Rors!
Please let us know if you have any questions or comments to add to this article.
References
- PGA, https://www.pgatour.com/players/player.28237.rory-mcilroy.html
