Rory McIlroy Player Profile And What's In The Bag
By: Derek Clements | Mon 24 Oct 2022
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Article Updated in February 2025
An imperious Rory McIlroy led a European masterclass to win the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. He won the tournament with a total of 267, 21 under par, three shots ahead of Ireland’s Shane Lowry, with England’s Justin Rose a shot further adrift after a dramatic chip for an eagle at the final hole.
McIlroy’s victory throws down the gauntlet to world number one Scottie Scheffler, who was making his first appearance of the season. He effectively told Scheffler that he is not going to have it all his own way in 2025.
The Northern Irishman began the final round trailing Austria’s Sepp Straka by a shot but wasted no time in overtaking his fellow Ryder Cup player.
The win, which was McIlroy’s 27th on the PGA Tour, meant a great dea.
He said: "I knew today was going to be tough and exciting because there were so many guys around the lead. I had to put the to the back of my mind to try to shoot a score, which I was able to do. To have that walk up the 18th and take it all in was really cool. My eagle at the 14th really helped. And it was so good to see Shane finish second. I haven’t played well here in the past so this means a lot."
An eagle on the 14th hole proved crucial as he established a healthy advantage that he did not relinquish despite pressure from Lowry. After a tough start, Lowry recovered to push McIlroy all the way as he finished second with a final round of 68.
McIlroy and Lowry were both one shot behind Straka going into the final day. They both made a hole-in-one during their first rounds but fell off the pace during the second round with a pair of 70s.
The pair fought back in Saturday's third round as they each posted a seven-under-par 65 to reach 15 under.
After a one-over front nine of 37, Lowry picked up shots at the 11th, 12th, 14th and 16th to keep the pressure on McIlroy but his hopes ended when he missed a birdie putt at the 17th to allow McIlroy to take a three-shot lead up the last.
Rose finished on 18 under, alongside Lucas Glover after a final-round 68. Russell Henley and Cam Davis were tied fifth on 17 under, whilst Straka struggled on the final day and fell away to end on 16 under.
Scheffler recorded yet another top-10 finish as he ended on 15 under on his first PGA Tour appearance of the season following a hand injury.
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 27 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 258 starts on the PGA Tour he has made the cut 227 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
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
Tour Championship (72-Holes) - 12th
BMW Championship - T11th
FedEx St Jude Championship - T68th
Key Stats
Driving Distance - 336.6 Yards
Driving Accuracy - 67.86%
Greens in Regulation - 70.87%
Sand Saves - 57.14%
Putts Per Round - 27.00
Scoring Average - 66.75
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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