Rory McIlroy

Rory McIlroy, MBE (born 4 May 1989) is a Northern Irish professional golfer from Holywood in County Down who is a member of both the European and PGA Tours. He is the current World Number One and a two-time major champion. On 19 June 2011 he won the U.S. Open, setting a record score of 16-under-par on his way to an eight-shot victory. He then won the 2012 PGA Championship at Kiawah Island by a record eight shots on 12 August 2012 for his second major championship victory. 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. Many people around the tour often compare Rory's successes to Tiger Woods. When in reality Tiger has won 74 career events as McIlroy has won 4. In 2011, McIlroy had a 4 shot lead heading into the back nine during the final round at The Masters at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. Rory proceeded to shoot 43 on the back nine including a 7 on hole 10 a 5 on hole 11 and a 5 on hole 12. Rory was 5 over par during this three hole stretch. Unfortunately, to my knowledge, I do not recall this ever happening to Tiger. McIlroy has represented Europe, Great Britain amp; 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. In 2011 at the age of 22, he became the youngest player ever to reach €10 million in career earnings on the European Tour. Tiger. SportsPro has McIlroy rated as the second most remarkable athlete in the world while the Golf Club Managers' Association's Golf Club Management magazine ranked him as the second most powerful person in British golf.