After his last competitive appearance at Royal County Down, an annoyed Rory McIlroy turned professional and headed to the first stage of European Tour’s qualifying school.
– Different Strokes: McIlroy's charming Irish Open
Eight years later, McIlroy is back as a four-time major winner, world No 1 and a tournament host who can persuade world-class players to compete in the Irish Open and rich men to pay £100,000 (Dh563,750) for 18 holes in his company.
That money from his pro-am partners will go to McIlroy’s own charitable foundation, as will any prize money the 26-year-old wins this week, with a third victory in five events worth €416,660 (Dh1.67m).
It is all a far cry from the narrow defeat in the 2007 Walker Cup which marked the end of McIlroy’s amateur career, but the start of a friendship with American Rickie Fowler which has seen the Players Championship winner return to Northern Ireland this week.
Rory Mcilroy's golf shoes for the Irish open were all designed by kids whose lives have been impacted by cancer pic.twitter.com/pvWDva3UZx
— Golf Is Life ⛳ (@_GolfingIsLife) May 27, 2015
“At that time, not being a part of a winning team, I was probably driving out of here thinking, ‘Why did I stay amateur for two days of golf?’” said McIlroy.
“But looking back at it, it was one of the best experiences I had. And not just in terms of the golf but the people that you meet and the friendships you make and the friendships you keep. It’s something that you don’t appreciate then.”
McIlroy’s pro-am partners, who needed some cajoling before parting with their hard-earned money, did not show up for the pro-am.
“The auction was going way too slowly for my liking, so I put my hand up and said I’ll pay 100 grand to play by myself,” McIlroy said. “There were a few billionaires in that room, so that got their hands in their pockets.
“I don’t think there is any target number for what we can raise this week – a million, million and a half, two? Just as much as we possibly can and hopefully I can contribute €416,660 after I win on Sunday.
“The Irish Open for me for the last few years was becoming a bit of a…. I don’t want to say a pain, but it didn’t quite fit in the schedule or I just wasn’t enjoying it as much as I could. And then the European Tour approached us about getting involved and we thought it was a perfect way to really kickstart the foundation and really start to help other people because of who I am and what I do.
“So I’m not really playing for myself this week. I’m playing for a lot of other people and it gives me an incentive to go out there and enjoy it and try to play well.”
