Rory McIlroy

Rory Daniel McIlroy (born 4 May 1989) is a Northern Irish professional golfer who plays on the European Tour and the PGA Tour. He is a former world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking and has spent over 100 weeks in that position during his career. A five-time major champion, he is the sixth man to complete a modern career grand slam and the first European to achieve the feat.

McIlroy had a successful amateur career, reaching number one on the World Amateur Golf Ranking as a 17-year-old in 2007. Later that year, he turned professional and soon established himself on the European Tour. He achieved his first win on the European Tour in 2009 and on the PGA Tour in 2010. McIlroy won his first major championship at the 2011 U.S. Open. By age 25, he had won three more: the 2012 and 2014 PGA Championship and the 2014 Open Championship. In 2022, he became the first person to win the FedEx Cup three times. McIlroy won The Players Championship in 2019 and 2025. After a ten-year drought in the majors, he won the 2025 Masters Tournament to complete the career grand slam.

McIlroy has represented Europe, Ireland and Great Britain & Ireland as both an amateur and a professional. He has played for Europe at the Ryder Cup in every edition from 2010 to 2025, with Europe winning in 2010, 2012, 2014, 2018, 2023 and 2025. For his achievements, he has been named RTÉ Sports Person of the Year in 2011, 2014 and 2025, and won the 2025 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award.

Early life

Mcllroy was born on 4 May 1989 in Holywood, County Down, Northern Ireland. His mother, Rosaleen "Rosie" McDonald, was originally from Lurgan, County Armagh, while his father, Gerry McIlroy, was from Holywood. His parents met while Rosie worked as a waitress at a bar Gerry managed in Belfast and they married at St Colmcille's Church in Holywood in January 1988, both aged 27. McIlroy was an only child and the family lived in a modest, semi-detached house in Holywood. He attended St Patrick's, a Catholic primary school, until he passed his eleven-plus and gained entry to Sullivan Upper School, a mixed grammar school.

McIlroy was introduced to golf at a young age by his father and received a set of plastic clubs when he was two years old. His father was a golfer himself, who once played at a scratch handicap level. On his mother's side, McIlroy's uncle Mickey McDonald was a talented athlete: he played Gaelic football for Armagh GAA, winning the Ulster Senior Football Championship in 1982, and association football for Glenavon F.C. and Cliftonville F.C..

McIlroy regularly asked his father to take him to the nearby Holywood Golf Club, where he gained attention by hitting 40-yard (37 m) drives at age three. He practiced chipping at home by hitting balls into the family's washing machine, studied a golf technique video by Nick Faldo and often went to sleep holding a golf club to develop muscle memory of the interlocking grip. At age seven, McIlroy became Holywood Golf Club's youngest-ever member and dreamed of becoming a professional golfer. He was a self-described "anorak" of Tiger Woods as a child, stating "I was only eight but I watched every hole" of Woods's victory at the 1997 Masters Tournament. McIlroy received early tutelage from coach Michael Bannon at Holywood Golf Club.

To fund his golfing ambitions, McIlroy's parents took on extra jobs. Gerry worked 100 hours a week; he cleaned toilets and showers at a local sports club in the mornings, served as a bartender at Holywood Golf Club from 12 to 6 pm, then returned to the sports club to work behind the bar in the evenings. Rosie looked after Rory during the day and worked night shifts packaging rolls of tape at a 3M factory in Bangor, County Down. Due to their conflicting schedules, McIlroy's parents rarely saw each other during this period. Gerry later said: "I had no idea what else to do. I'm a working-class man. We wanted to give our only child a chance." After finding success as a professional golfer, McIlroy bought his parents a house in 2009, stating: "I'll never be able to repay Mum and Dad for what they did, but at least they know they'll never have to work another day. I'll do whatever it takes to look after them."

Aged nine, McIlroy had his first significant international amateur tournament victory, at the U10 World Championship held at Doral Golf Resort & Spa in Miami, Florida. After this win, he was invited by broadcaster Gerry Kelly to appear on the television show Kelly, where he demonstrated his technique of chipping a golf ball into a washing machine for the audience. In a 1998 interview with BBC Sport, McIlroy said his ambition was to win all four major championship titles. He became a scratch handicap at age 12, and began to receive mentorship from professional golfer Darren Clarke. McIlroy decided to leave school in 2005 in order to concentrate on golf.

Amateur career

McIlroy won the Ulster Boys' U15 Championship in 2002 and the Ulster Boys' U18 Championship in 2003. At the age of 15, he was a member of the Irish team at the 2004 European Boys' Team Championship in Finland and the European team which won the 2004 Junior Ryder Cup against the United States on foreign soil in Ohio.

In 2005, McIlroy became the youngest-ever winner of both the West of Ireland Championship and the Irish Close Championship. He had signed a letter of intent in late 2004 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.

At age 16, McIlroy made his European Tour debut in May 2005 at the Daily Telegraph Dunlop Masters. Two months later, he shot a 61 at the Dunluce Links of Royal Portrush Golf Club during stroke-play qualifying at the North of Ireland Amateur Open, breaking the competitive course record. McIlroy made his first cut in a professional tournament at the Morson International Pro-Am Challenge on the Challenge Tour in August 2005. He shot a final-round 67 to finish at 278, seven strokes behind the winner Andrés Romero.

McIlroy represented Ireland at the 2005 European Amateur Team Championship. However, Ireland did not advance to the match-play portion. Two years later, he competed for Ireland again at the 2007 European Amateur Team Championship, this time with future Open champion Shane Lowry as one of his teammates. McIlroy was the individual leader in the stroke-play portion and Ireland ultimately defeated France in the final to claim victory. This was Ireland's first title in the championship since 1987.

In August 2006, McIlroy won the European Amateur at Biella Golf Club, near Milan, Italy, which earned him an exemption to The Open Championship the following year. Also in 2006, he represented Europe against the Asia/Pacific team at the Bonallack Trophy in New Zealand, represented Ireland in the Eisenhower Trophy, and retained both his West of Ireland and Irish Close titles.

McIlroy made his first cut on the European Tour in February 2007, as a 17-year-old at the Dubai Desert Classic. He had to forego prize money of over €7,000 due to his amateur status. Following his performance in Dubai, McIlroy rose to number one in the World Amateur Golf Ranking. In March, he won the Grey Goose Cup in Sotogrande, Spain, defeating Marius Thorp in a playoff.

In his major championship debut, at the 2007 Open Championship held at Carnoustie Golf Links in July, McIlroy shot a bogey-free opening round of 3-under-par 68. He ended the tournament in tied-42nd place, ranking as the low amateur and winning the silver medal. McIlroy chose to end his amateur career at the 2007 Walker Cup in September, where he represented the Great Britain & Ireland team at the Royal County Down Golf Club. McIlroy's overall record was 1–2–1, including a win in his Sunday singles match against Billy Horschel, as the United States emerged victorious over Great Britain & Ireland by a score of 12.5–11.5.

Professional career

2007–2009: Early years, first European Tour win

McIlroy turned professional on 18 September 2007 and signed with International Sports Management. He made his first professional start the following day at the Quinn Direct British Masters, where he finished in a tie for 42nd place. In his next start, he finished third at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. He secured his European Tour card for 2008 the following week by finishing in a tie for 4th place at the Open de Madrid Valle Romano. Aged 18, he became the youngest affiliate member in the history of the European Tour to earn a tour card. On the 2007 European Tour season, he earned €277,255 and finished in 95th place on the Order of Merit list.

McIlroy entered the top 200 of the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) for the first time on 27 January 2008. On 7 September 2008, McIlroy took a four-stroke 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 and lost in a play-off. McIlroy finished the 2008 European Tour season with six top-10 placements and ranked 79th in the OWGR. After finishing second in the UBS Hong Kong Open in November 2008, McIlroy moved into the top 50 of the OWGR. He ended the calendar year at 39th; this earned him an invitation to the 2009 Masters Tournament.