48 Fun Facts About Rory McIlroy

In which County Down town was Rory McIlroy born and raised?

Holywood, pronounced like Hollywood, is also where he went to school: he left Sullivan Upper in 2005, just before his exams, to concentrate on golf.

Into which household appliance did the young McIlroy practise chipping golf balls?

The washing machine sat at the end of a long hallway, and he chipped balls into it through the open front door; by nine he was good enough to win the world under-10 title in Miami.

Which job did McIlroy's father Gerry work in two places to fund his son's golf?

Barman: Gerry worked behind two bars while Rosie did night shifts at a 3M factory in Bangor, sacrifices their son says he will never forget.

Which coach has worked with McIlroy since his boyhood at his home club?

Michael Bannon first coached him at the age of eight, and in 2012 gave up his own job as a club professional to work with McIlroy full-time.

Which Northern Irish Ryder Cup golfer became a mentor to the young McIlroy?

Darren Clarke spotted his ball-striking at ten and advised him from his early teens; it was Clarke who talked him out of taking up a golf scholarship at a college in Tennessee.

With which Irish friend did McIlroy win the PGA Tour's team event, the Zurich Classic, in 2024?

Shane Lowry holed the birdie putt on the 72nd hole that forced a playoff, and the pair won it with a par for McIlroy's 25th PGA Tour title.

At which links did the 16-year-old McIlroy shoot a course-record 61 in 2005?

Royal Portrush's Dunluce course gave up nine birdies and an eagle that day, beating the old record by three shots; because the links has since been altered, his 61 can never be bettered.

McIlroy won the silver medal as low amateur at which 2007 Open Championship venue?

Carnoustie was his first major: the 18-year-old amateur opened with the only bogey-free round of the day, a 68 that beat Tiger Woods by a shot, and seven years later he owned the Claret Jug too.

McIlroy's first professional win, at 19 in February 2009, came at which event?

The Dubai Desert Classic win came five months after he had thrown away a four-shot lead in Switzerland, missing an 18-inch putt in the playoff; in Dubai he held on by a single shot.

McIlroy's first PGA Tour win came with a course-record 62 at which course in May 2010?

Quail Hollow nearly sent him home early: he scraped through the cut right on the limit, then closed with that 62 to beat Phil Mickelson by four, two days before he turned 21.

McIlroy led the 2011 Masters by four before a closing 80; who won instead?

Charl Schwartzel birdied the last four holes to win, while McIlroy's lead dissolved at the 10th, where his drive ricocheted off a tree to finish between the cabins and cost him a triple bogey.

McIlroy won his first major, the 2011 U.S. Open, at which course?

Congressional saw him lead after every round and finish a record 16 under par, just two months after he had thrown away the Masters on the final day.

In 2023 McIlroy said that if LIV Golf were "the last place to play golf on Earth", he would do what?

Retire from the game was his answer in July 2023, a month after he had called himself a "sacrificial lamb" in the fight with the Saudi-backed league; by 2024 he admitted he had been "a little judgmental" of those who joined.

Which Australian, also a runner-up at that year's Masters, finished second to McIlroy at the 2011 U.S. Open?

Jason Day, then 23, finished second in both of 2011's first two majors and had to wait four more years for his own, the 2015 PGA Championship.

Winning which event in March 2012 took McIlroy to world number one for the first time?

The Honda Classic made him world number one because he held off Tiger Woods, whose closing 62 fell two shots short; only Woods himself had reached the top at a younger age.

On which course did McIlroy win the 2012 PGA Championship by a record eight shots?

Kiawah Island's Ocean Course made him wait: a storm stopped Saturday's play, so he finished with a 27-hole Sunday and birdied the last to win by one more than Jack Nicklaus's old record margin.

How did McIlroy get to the course in time for his Sunday singles at the 2012 Ryder Cup at Medinah?

A police escort was needed because he took a tee time listed in Eastern time, an hour ahead of Chicago, for the local one; an officer drove him to the course with minutes to spare, and he won his match.

McIlroy's 2013 slump followed a lucrative equipment deal with which company?

Nike unveiled him in January 2013 on a ten-year contract reported at up to $250 million; within four years the company had stopped making clubs and balls altogether.

At which course did McIlroy win the 2014 Open Championship wire-to-wire?

Royal Liverpool, at Hoylake, gave him the third leg of the career grand slam at 25 after he led alone at the end of every round; the fourth leg, the Masters, then took him eleven more years.

Which course hosted McIlroy's fourth major, the 2014 PGA Championship?

Valhalla staged a finish in near darkness after a two-hour rain delay; McIlroy, three behind at one point, parred the last in the gloom to beat Phil Mickelson by a shot.

What caused McIlroy to miss the 2015 Open as defending champion?

An ankle injury from football: he ruptured a ligament in a kickabout with friends less than two weeks before the Open at St Andrews, and later vowed to stop doing "silly things" in mid-season.

Why did McIlroy withdraw from the 2016 Rio Olympics?

The Zika virus was a low risk, he said, but one he was unwilling to take; he added that he would not even watch the golf, later admitted he had been wrong, and played for Ireland in Tokyo.

McIlroy donated the €666,000 cheque from which 2016 win to charity?

The Irish Open was hosted that year by his own Rory Foundation, so after winning at the K Club he gave the whole first prize to its chosen charities.

Whom did McIlroy hire as caddie in 2017 after parting with JP Fitzgerald?

Harry Diamond, a friend since childhood and once a top Irish amateur, was hired on a short trial and kept the job, though McIlroy said he had been "inundated" with approaches from other caddies.

McIlroy signed a 10-year, $100 million equipment deal in 2017 with which company?

TaylorMade won his signature after he had spent months testing rivals' clubs, his previous supplier having quit the equipment business; the deal covered clubs, ball and bag for a decade.

McIlroy's 2019 win in which national open completed his career 'Triple Crown' alongside the Open and U.S. Open?

The Canadian Open, first played in 1904, ranks with the Open and the U.S. Open as the PGA Tour's three oldest events; he won it at his first attempt with a closing 61 and became the sixth player to hold all three.

Which title earned McIlroy a $15 million bonus in 2019, then the largest payout in golf?

The FedEx Cup that year used a new handicap start that left him five shots behind the top seed before a ball was hit; he won by four anyway, and in 2022 became the first to take the title three times.

McIlroy's production company Firethorn, launched in 2025, is named after a hole at which course?

Augusta National's par-five 15th hole is nicknamed Firethorn; he set the company up in December 2025, eight months after winning the Masters there to complete the career grand slam.

Which LIV golfer served McIlroy with a subpoena on Christmas Eve 2022?

Patrick Reed had the court papers delivered to McIlroy's Florida home; a month later McIlroy blanked him on the Dubai range, then birdied the last two holes to beat him by a shot.

Which American did McIlroy beat in the singles at the 2023 Ryder Cup in Rome?

Sam Burns lost 3 and 1, a day after McIlroy's angry confrontation with an American caddie at the end of Saturday's play; the win gave McIlroy four points from five matches as Europe regained the cup.

Who beat McIlroy by one at the 2024 U.S. Open after he missed short putts on 16 and 18?

Bryson DeChambeau sealed it by getting up and down from a bunker well short of the last green; McIlroy had led alone with four holes to play.

Whom did McIlroy beat in a playoff to win the 2025 Masters and complete the career grand slam?

Justin Rose birdied six of his last eight holes to force extra time, but McIlroy birdied the first playoff hole and became the first European to win all four majors, at his 11th attempt.

Whom did McIlroy beat in a three-hole aggregate playoff for the 2025 Players Championship?

J. J. Spaun put his tee shot in the water at the island-green 17th in a Monday playoff forced by a four-hour weather delay, and McIlroy coasted home for his second Players title.

In June 2025 McIlroy said "I climbed my Everest in April"; what was he explaining?

A dip in his motivation: two months after completing the grand slam he had missed a cut and tied for 19th at the U.S. Open, and said that after such a climb "you've got to look for another mountain to climb."

In 2025 McIlroy became the second golfer, after Tiger Woods, to reach which PGA Tour mark?

$100 million in prize money arrived not with a win but with a tie for fifth at the Houston Open; Woods had 74 Tour victories when he reached the mark in 2012, McIlroy only 28.

McIlroy led the 2026 Masters by a record six shots at halfway, lost the lead, then won by one from whom?

Scottie Scheffler closed with a 68 but fell one short: McIlroy, behind after a double bogey at the 4th on Sunday, answered with birdies at 7 and 8 and again at 12 and 13 to keep the green jacket.

By defending in 2026, McIlroy joined which three players as back-to-back Masters champions?

Nicklaus, Faldo and Woods had been the only repeat winners, in 1966, 1990 and 2002; McIlroy joined them and said he could not believe he had waited 17 years for one green jacket and then won two in a row.

At which New York course did McIlroy help Europe win the 2025 Ryder Cup?

Bethpage Black's crowd subjected him to days of abuse, with officers wading into the gallery to deal with hecklers, but he took three and a half points from five matches as Europe held on 15-13, its first away win since 2012.

Whose tally did McIlroy overtake with his seventh Race to Dubai title in 2025?

Seve Ballesteros's six had been beaten only by Colin Montgomerie's eight; before the final round McIlroy spoke to Ballesteros's former wife, Carmen, who told him how proud Seve would have been.

Which tennis star was McIlroy engaged to before calling it off in 2014?

Caroline Wozniacki and he had just sent out the wedding invitations when he ended it, saying they made him realise he was not ready; four days later he won the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.

Where did McIlroy marry Erica Stoll in April 2017?

Ashford Castle, a 13th-century castle whose grounds appeared in John Wayne's The Quiet Man, hosted a wedding at which Stevie Wonder was reported to have performed for the guests.

Which football club does McIlroy support?

Manchester United's manager invited him to bring the Masters green jacket to Old Trafford in 2025, after McIlroy said he would take it there "if it can inspire some better play."

What kind of competition is TGL, launched in 2025 by McIlroy's company TMRW Sports?

An indoor league played on simulators: tour pros hit into a screen about 24 times the size of a normal golf simulator, then finish each hole on a real green that rotates on a turntable.

McIlroy became the cover namesake of which video-game series in 2015, replacing its previous star?

EA Sports' PGA Tour games had carried Tiger Woods's name for 16 years; Rory McIlroy PGA Tour turned out to be the only edition named after him, as the series then went quiet until 2023.

Which Formula One team's investment group did McIlroy join in 2023?

Alpine's new backers that year read like a sporting who's who: McIlroy bought in alongside NFL stars Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce, boxer Anthony Joshua and footballer Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Which former PGA Tour player has been McIlroy's putting coach since 2018?

Brad Faxon, one of the best putters of his generation, took a phone call in 2018 from a struggling McIlroy; after one Monday afternoon together McIlroy had his best putting week of the season.

Who beat the favourite, McIlroy, to the 2014 BBC Sports Personality award?

Lewis Hamilton won the public vote in 2014 although McIlroy, with two majors that summer, was the heavy favourite; McIlroy finally topped the poll in 2025, after completing the grand slam and helping win a Ryder Cup in America.

Which agent did McIlroy say had led him 'down the wrong path' when he left ISM in 2011?

Chubby Chandler's agency was firmly pro-European Tour, and McIlroy came to regret giving up his PGA Tour card; he moved to the Dublin firm Horizon, a partnership that itself ended in a court case settled in 2015.