RORY McILROY Natural Winner
Transcript of RORY McILROY Natural Winner
Rory McIlroy is a phenomenon. His genius lies in his ability, more often than not, to bend a golf ball to
his will. He finds power that seems unrelated to his modest size and he finds the desire to practice, to
improve and to overcome the fluttering wings of nervous anticipation when he reaches the sharp end of
the biggest weeks.
He is a natural at the game but he is also
that rarest of things, a natural winner.
The fact that he combines this sporting
precocity with an instinctive grace and an
apparently abiding humility means that
we may not just admire him for what he
does but actually like him at the same
time. As one American writer observed
recently: “If Rory was a puppy you would
want to tickle his tummy.” Quite so.
Now, some 14 years after winning the
World Under-Ten Championship in
Florida, he sits spectacularly astride
professional golf. The undisputed World
Number One, he has the world at his feet.
His has not been a rollercoaster ride to
the very top but a jet-propelled elevation
that, the odd blip aside, has been as
predictable as these unpredictable things
can be.
Ten years ago, in conversation with Jack
Macgowan, who at that time covered
boxing and golf for the Belfast Telegraph,
the topic of a kid called Rory McIlroy
came up. “Believe me, he is very special,
the best I’ve ever clapped eyes on for his
age,” said Jack. “He is also a nice lad from
a nice family. I just want you to know he is
definitely worthy of your attention.”
Sadly, Jack died in April 2009 so he
never quite knew how true his words
were or how keenly accurate his early
observation of a young golfer had been.
Rory reminded him of no-one as much
as he reminded him of Christy O’Connor
or ‘Himself’ as the great man was called.
Christy played golf with an instinctive,
natural abandon. It was all in his head
and his hands and Jack saw the same
genius in this young boy.
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Natural WinnerRORY McILROY
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Around the same time as this
conversation, McIlroy had been asked
to tell some other young golfers how
he hit a fade as opposed to a draw or
a low ball compared to a high one. His
answer summed him up perfectly. “Oh, I
don’t know,” he said. “I just think ‘draw’
or ‘fade’ and then that’s what I hit.”
Instinctive genius perhaps but, at 13, he
also knew the exact lofts and lies of every
club in his bag and the precise distance
he could achieve with them. None of his
peers at a gathering of young Irish talent
knew this sort of thing. No wonder the
coach was impressed.
His is an unlikely story of golfing triumph.
The only child to Rosie and Gerry, most
of us are now keenly aware of how they
worked ungodly hours to fund their
prodigal son’s progress. As a toddler he
had been taken to Holywood Golf Club
by Gerry – himself a decent player –
and watched while his dad hit practice
balls. Gerry did this because his wife
was sleeping after another night shift
in a factory. Gerry, meanwhile, worked
as a cleaner in the mornings and
then tended the golf club bar, often
putting in double shifts.
It was a hell of a commitment and
although unquestionably hard
at times, when these thoughts
emerged Rosie would quietly say:
“Keep going, it’s what Rory wants
to do and one day it will be worth
it.” Gerry, meanwhile, will now tell
you: “I’m a working class man and
doing those jobs was all I knew
to get the money we needed for
Rory to be able to learn and to
compete at golf. But I want to
make it clear, golf was not our
dream, it was Rory’s.”
This last assertion is obvious
to anyone who has met Mr
and Mrs McIlroy. As Forbes
Magazine recently put it: “Gerry
McIlroy, seemingly unlike most
fathers of prominent young
athletes in individual sports,
is notable because he is not
With playing partner Ian Poulter at The 2012 Ryder Cup
In action during the 2007 Walker Cup at Royal County Down
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an obsessive, out of control nutball.”
Meanwhile Karl MacGinty of The Irish
Independent points out simply: “The great
thing about Gerry is that he always steps
away and lets Rory get on with it.”
This is why, having taught an eager son
the rudiments of the game, Gerry was
astute enough to know when Rory needed
a more accomplished teacher and handed
him over to his club’s professional
Michael Bannon. The boy was eight years
old at the time and Bannon is still his
coach, joining the McIlroy team full-time
in the summer of 2012.
This sort of loyalty, though carefully
considered, appears a trademark of
McIlroy’s. When he fell apart during
the final round of the 2011 Masters
Tournament there were loud howls
from some hysterical corners for him to
instantly discard caddie JP Fitzgerald.
These howls were, rightly, ignored and
Fitzgerald is still firmly in control of the
most coveted bag in golf.
Of course Fitzgerald’s guidance two
months later when the US Open
Championship was won by eight shots,
rather made the earlier squeals of
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With dad Gerry at Holywood Golf Club
disapproval appear as daft as they
seemed to some of us at the time.
However, if McIlroy feels change is
required then he clearly does not
hesitate. His move late last year from
the International Sports Management
company that had looked after him
from the moment he decided to turn
professional to the Dublin-based Horizon
Sports, was as swift, dramatic and
unexpected as it was conclusive. Hard
evidence that McIlroy is his own man.
Furthermore, if we thought 2011 was a
stellar year for our hero then 2012 moved
everything up another significant gear.
In total he played 24 tournaments, won
five of them including, of course, the US
PGA Championship and finished in the
top ten 15 times. His five consecutive
birdie finish to win the DP World Tour
Championship, Dubai and thus sealing
his annus mirabilus, was a masterclass in
considered brilliance, a burst of stunning
play only previously seen from golf’s true
greats - Seve Ballesteros, Jack Nicklaus,
Arnold Palmer and Tiger Woods.
His stroke average in the United States
was a stellar 68.87 and good enough for
him to take the Vardon Trophy
there with Woods in second
place on 68.9. Despite this, he
and Tiger seemed to become
genuine pals along the way
with Woods happily saying:
“We have so much in
common.” Rory contented
himself by saying of their
bromance: “It’s pretty
cool to hang around with
him.” It is, however, surely
no coincidence that the
year ended with McIlroy
signing a long-term deal
with Tiger’s long-term
backers Nike.
No wonder Rory says
that while he can never
repay his mum and dad
for what they did for
him growing up, they at
least know they will never have to work
another day in their lives.
At 23, he has many years yet to win more
Major Championships, top more money
lists and enchant even more people, and
if he is to improve then, to this observer’s
eye at least, the only real flaw he needs
to address is his occasional loss of focus
when he is not at his best. If, however,
this really is his only blemish, then we
are undoubtedly watching one of the
truly great careers unfold in front of our
privileged eyes.
What is certainly true is that he has yet
to combat any really bad injury, any
on-going loss of form or, dare one say
it, heartache. His romance with tennis
star Caroline Wozniacki inevitably comes
under intense scrutiny whenever they
meet up but they seem still able to mostly
enjoy themselves in the carefree manner
that young men and women should.
It was, of course, while chatting on the
phone to Caroline in Chicago that McIlroy
came close to missing his Sunday tee
time in The Ryder Cup. In the end he was
rescued by a kind policeman with fast
driving skills but it was a close call and it
reminded everyone that he is human. The
consequences for him if he had missed
With the US PGA Championship trophy
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Rory McIlroy holds upthe USPGA trophy atKiawah Island
that opening drive are, frankly, too dire to contemplate except to say that
he would have been hammered and his reputation damaged. Instead
he just made it before winning his match against Keegan Bradley to
play his part in Europe’s stunning comeback. Once again, for Rory,
everything turned out just fine. It was a close call though.
So now here he is on top of everything, richer that most of us can ever
imagine and destined to become even more so. He also no longer
carries the signs of youth, no longer has those early puppy dog looks.
It is a leaner-cheeked, more physically mature man who heads into
2013.
He admits that he loves the big stage but that he is humbled by what
he has achieved this year. It is a typical McIlroy comment and one
that adds reassuring fuel to the thought that here we have a player
who knows that even when you are standing astride the world, it is
hugely advantageous to keep both feet firmly on the ground.
“One of the biggest things for me is longevity,” he said. “I don’t
want to suffer burnout. I don’t want to get to 30 or 35 and find
myself fed up with the game. I want to pace myself.”
All of us who love seeing this old game played properly, sincerely
hope he succeeds in that quest.
Bill Elliott
Golf Monthly
52 Number One in The Race to Dubai
With mum Rosie and dad Gerry celebrating his first European Tour victory in Dubai 2009
With girlfriend Caroline Wozniacki
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THE 2012 RACE TO DUBAI FINAL STANDINGS
¤ 1 RORY McILROY 5,519,118 2 Justin Rose 3,768,345
3 Louis Oosthuizen 3,187,364
4 Peter Hanson 3,022,916
5 Ian Poulter 2,581,257
6 Branden Grace 2,502,501
7 Luke Donald 2,373,540
8 Francesco Molinari 2,215,229
9 Graeme McDowell 1,945,056
10 Paul Lawrie 1,910,381
11 Nicolas Colsaerts 1,745,744
12 Lee Westwood 1,671,456
13 Matteo Manassero 1,595,093
14 Marcel Siem 1,368,845
15 Thorbjørn Olesen 1,309,271
RORY McILROY - FACTS AND ACHIEVEMENTS
Established a new Race to Dubai record for single season earnings with €5,519,118.
Became the second player, following Luke Donald in 2011, to finish Number One in Europe and America in the same season.
Aged 23 years and 100 days became the youngest player to win his first two Majors since Seve Ballesteros, who was 23 years and four days old when he won the 1980 Masters Tournament, following The Open Championship in 1979.
His eight shot winning margin in the US PGA Championship created a new record for the largest winning margin in that Championship, beating the seven stroke triumph of Jack Nicklaus in 1980.
As a result of winning the US PGA Championship, he went back to Number One in the Official World Golf Ranking.
Moved over €15 million in European Tour Official Career Earnings from just 115 European Tour events.
Won an average of €367,941 per event on The 2012 European Tour.
Was a total of 88 under par for his 14 European Tour stroke play events in 2012.