Rory McIlroy Player Profile And What's In The Bag
By: Derek Clements | Mon 24 Oct 2022
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Article Updated in March 2025
Rory McIlroy added $4.5m to his bank account as he defeated JJ Spaun in a three-hole playoff to win The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass for the second time. He also became the first man to win twice on the PGA Tour in 2025.
He said: "I am unbelievably proud and happy to win my second Players. It's the third time I've won on St Patrick's Day. It's been a good-luck charm for me."
McIlroy dominated the playoff from the opening tee shot on the par-five 16th, smashing a huge drive down the centre of the fairway, while Spaun, who has just one PGA Tour win to his name, could only find the rough.
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The American world number 57 put his second into a greenside bunker and took three from there to register a par, while McIlroy, who hit his second into the centre of the green, two-putted for a birdie.
McIlroy found the green with his tee shot on thepar-three 17th 'island hole', but Spaun put his ball in the water to effectively end his hopes.
He took a triple-bogey six and although McIlroy three-putted to drop a shot, his lead was three going down the last. Both players scrambled their way down the 18th following wayward drives out to the right that left them blocked by trees.
But McIlroy's advantage was so great he could tap in for a bogey to win the playoff on one over par. Spaun, who was at four over, picked up his ball without finishing the hole having taken four shots.
"I feel really bad for JJ," added McIlroy. "He hit a great shot on the 17th but it just went straight through the wind."
Spaun said "it looked like it was floating and we didn't see it land" of his tee shot on the short hole. "But I would have taken getting into a play-off for the title at the start of the week."
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 28 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 261 starts on the PGA Tour he has made the cut 230 times. Apart from his 27 wins, he has finished second 11 times and third on a further 11 occasions. He has pocketed almost $94.5m 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
The Players Championship - 1st
Arnold Palmer Invitational - T15th
The Genesis Invitational - T17th
AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am - 1st
Hero Dubai Desert Classic - T4th
DP World Tour Championship - 1st
Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship - T3rd
Alfred Dunhill Links Championship - T25th
BMW PGA Championship - T2nd
Amgen Irish Open - 2nd
Key Stats
Driving Distance - 315.00 Yards
Driving Accuracy - 50.89%
Greens in Regulation - 65.53%
Sand Saves - 57.14%
Putts Per Round - 27.81
Scoring Average - 69.71
End of Year World Ranking Position
2019: 2
2020: 4
2021: 9
2022: 1
2023: 2
2024: 3
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 TP5
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