Rory McIlroy wants to be just a golfer again

Much in demand for several weeks, Rory McIlroy admits that the new responsibilities incumbent on him are not unrelated to his poor performance this week at Ponte Vedra Beach in The Players. The Northern Irishman would like to only have to worry about his golf, one month from the first Major of the season.

Rory McIlroy, results

In the oven and in the mill since the emergence of LIV Golf, always ready to step up and defend the interests of the PGA Tour, available with the media, Rory McIlroy does not have much time to devote himself as he would like to its preparation.

Betrayed by his driving and putting skills, the Northern Irishman saw his hopes of becoming world number 1 again dashed when he missed the cut on Saturday morning when play resumed.

He was born in Holywood, Northern Ireland where he attended Sullivan Upper School. He belongs to the Holywood Golf Club, where he began his first training sessions followed by Michael Bannon, a coach he has maintained to this day.

McIlroy was part of the Junior Ryder Cup winning team in 2004, while in 2005 he became the youngest winner of both All-Ireland tournaments, the West of Ireland Championship and the Irish Close Championship.

Also in 2005, at the North of Ireland Championship, held at The Royal Portrush, he broke the course record with a 61 at the age of 16, a record still unbeaten in 2019 at The Open Championship, held at The Royal Portrush .

In August 2006 he won the stage played at the Le Betulle Golf Club in Biella, Piedmont, of the European Amateur Championship with a score of 274 strokes (65-69-72-68), 3 less than the Englishman Lewton Stephen.

In October 2006 he represented Ireland in the Eisenhower Trophy and the Amateur World Team Championship.

On February 6, 2007, he became the second man to lead the World Amateur Golf Rankings, although he lost the lead after just one week.

McIlroy had an opening round of 68 strokes, 3-under par, at the Open Championship at Carnoustie in 2007, which moved him to provisional third place, three strokes off the leader. In the same opening round he was also the only player on the court to finish without even a bogey. In the second round he shot 5 over par bringing him to +2 overall, however gaining access to the third round by overcoming the cut. In the third round he closed with 2 strokes over par, while in the fourth with 1 stroke more than par, finishing in 42nd place, the best of amateurs.

McIlroy was part of the Great Britain & Ireland squad at the 2007 Walker Cup.

His first appearance on the European Tour was at the 2005 British Masters, just days after he turned sixteen. He first cleared the cut on a European Tour at the age of seventeen, at the 2007 Dubai Desert Classic, where he also had to forfeit the €7,600 prize due to his amateur status.