Rory McIlroy Player Profile And What's In The Bag
By: Derek Clements | Mon 24 Oct 2022
Article Updated in November 2024
Rory McIlroy put some bitterly disappointing near-misses behind him as he won the DP World Tour Championship by two shots and the Race to Dubai by a country mile.
He held off Denmark’s Rasmus Hojgaard, who was looking to emulate his twin brother Nicolai by winning the season-ending tournament, to clinch his sixth Race to Dubai title at Jumeirah Golf Estates. He finished the week on 15 under par after a final round of 69.
McIlroy, 35, was confirmed as the Race to Dubai champion when nearest challenger Thriston Lawrence - who needed to win the tournament to have any chance of overhauling McIlroy - finished at one under.
It is the third year in succession that he has topped the tour's season rankings and his sixth title overall - matching Seve Ballesteros' record.
Fighting back tears, McIlroy said: "Everyone knows what Seve means to European golf and Ryder Cup players. The European Ryder Cup locker room, all we have are quotes from Seve. We had a changing room with Seve's shirt from '95, the last Ryder Cup he played.
"He means so much to European golf and for me to be mentioned in the same breath, I'm very proud."
Sharing a three-way lead at the start of the final round, McIlroy put two shots between himself and Hojgaard with four birdies in his first five holes.
But bogeys on the ninth and 13th allowed the Dane to draw level with four holes remaining.
Just as Hojgaard was piling on the pressure, McIlroy produced a stunning approach shot on the 16th to set up a birdie that took him one stroke clear with two holes left.
Hojgaard was forced to be aggressive, but the Dane narrowly missed a birdie putt on the 18th - relieving the pressure on McIlroy, who holed his own birdie attempt to seal the win.
Player Profile
McIlroy was born in Holywood, Northern Ireland on May 4, 1989. He turned professional at the age of 17 and wasted little time making his mark on the game. In 2011, at the age of 22, he became the youngest player to reach €10 million in career earnings on the European Tour. The following year he became the youngest player to reach $10 million in career earnings on the PGA Tour.
He is a four-time major winner but his last one came in 2014. He won three times in 2023 - the CJ Cup, the Dubai Desert Classic and the Scottish Open. His victory in Dubai was his fourth at the Dubai Desert Classic. His first professional victory came at the same tournament in 2009 when he was just 19 years old.
He has won 26 times on the PGA Tour and 17 times on the DP World Tour. Apart from his four major wins, he has finished in the top 10 in majors on 26 occasions, including a runner-up finish at the 2023 US Open, where he finished one shot behind Wyndham Clark.
He finished top of the pile in the FedEx Cup in 2021-22, winning three times and pocketing $8,654,566 in prize money on the PGA Tour alone.
His best year on the PGA Tour came in 2012, when he won four times.
He is third in the world rankings and has now won the Race to Dubai six times. In 2024 he has won four times - the Dubai Desert Classic, the Zurich Classic alongside Shane Lowry, the Wells Fargo and the DP World Tour Championship. But there have also been some heartbreaking near-misses - he threw away the US Open, and finished second at both the Irish Open and BMW PGA Championship.
In 2017, Forbes reported that McIlroy was the joint sixth highest-paid sportsperson, having earned $50 million, of which $34 million came from endorsements.
He has won 26 times on the PGA Tour and 18 times on the DP World Tour. Apart from his four major wins, he has finished in the top 10 in majors on 27 occasions, including a runner-up finish at the 2023 US Open, where he finished one shot behind Wyndham Clark. And 12 months later the same thing happened again, this time missing out to Bryson DeChambeau.
In 257 starts on the PGA Tour he has made the cut 226 times. Apart from his 26 wins, he has finished second 11 times and third on a further 11 occasions. He has pocketed almost $91m in prize money on the PGA Tour, second only to Tiger Woods. He has won the FedEx Cup three times. On the DP World Tour he has started 252 tournaments, made 210 cuts and apart from his 18 victories has 27 runner-up finishes and nearly €60m in prize money.
He is a seven-time Ryder Cup player, finishing on the winning side on five occasions.
He is married to Erica Stoll, whom he met at the 2012 Ryder Cup, and they have a daughter, Poppy.
Last 10 Events
DP World Tour Championship - 1st
Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship - T3rd
Alfred Dunhill Links Championship - T25th
BMW PGA Championship - T2nd
Amgen Irish Open - 2nd
Tour Championship (72-Holes) - 12th
BMW Championship - T11th
FedEx St Jude Championship - T68th
Olympic Men's Golf Competition - T5th
The 152nd Open - CUT
Key Stats
Driving Distance - 328.71 Yards
Driving Accuracy - 58.28%
Greens in Regulation - 71.57%
Sand Saves - 64.10%
Putts Per Round - 28.53
Scoring Average - 68.50
End of Year World Ranking Position
2019: 2
2020: 4
2021: 9
2022: 1
2023: 2
What's In The Bag
TaylorMade Qi10 9.0° Driver (Ventus Black 6-X)
TaylorMade Qi10 15.0° 3-Wood (Ventus Black 8-X)
TaylorMade Qi10 19.0° 5-Wood (Ventus Black 9-X)
TaylorMade P·760 4-Iron, Rors Proto 5-9 (Project X 7.0)
TaylorMade Milled Grind 4 46.09° SB, 50.09° SB, 54.11° SB (Project X 6.5)
TaylorMade Milled Grind 4 60.08° LB (Project X Wedge 6.5)
TaylorMade Spider Tour X
TaylorMade 2024 TP5x
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