Who Does This Crazy Hair Belong To?

He may look like a young Einstein, but can swing like Tiger. His name is Rory Mcilroy from Ireland. This 19 year old “kid” might just be Golf’s next big star.

Professional career

‘07

McIlroy turned professional on September 19 which was the day before the Quinn Direct British Masters. He signed with International Sports Management, a company that also manages Ernie Els, Darren Clarke, Lee Westwood andDavid Howell. At the British Masters, McIlroy shot 290 (+2) which put him in a tie for 42nd place. McIlroy finished in 3rd place at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in October. He finished 3 strokes behind the winner Nick Dougherty. Due to this performance, McIlroy put himself in position to become the youngest Affiliate Member in the history of The European Tour to earn a tour card.The next week McIlroy secured his card for 2008 by finishing in a tie for 4th place at the Open de Madrid Valle Romano. On the 2007 European Tour season, McIlroy earned €277,255 and finished in 95th place on the Order of Merit list. He was the highest ranked associate member.

‘08

Before his season started, Tiger Woods invited McIlroy to play in the 2007 Target World Challenge. He declined the invitation though, saying, “I was thrilled that they would want to invite me considering I’m only just starting out on my career.” McIlroy also said “That event clashes with the European Open and that’s an event I would be stupid not to play.”

McIlroy started his 2008 European Tour season at the UBS Hong Kong Open. He did not make the one-under cut though, missing it by four strokes. He shot a 69 in the 1st round and looked good to make the cut from there. McIlroy slipped up in the 2nd round though and shot a 74. This poor round made him miss his first cut as a professional. McIlroy bounced back by finishing in a tie for 15th at the MasterCard Masters in Australia.

McIlroy entered the top 200 of the Official World Golf Rankings for the first time on 27 January 2008.

On 7 September 2008, McIlroy took a four shot lead into the final round of the Omega European Masters in Crans-Sur-Sierre, Switzerland but finished in a tie for first place with Frenchman Jean-François Lucquin after missing a four foot putt for par at the 18th hole in regulation that would have given him the outright victory. In the sudden-death playoff, both players parred the 18th hole, and in the second go-around, McIlroy missed a 1 1/2 foot par putt, giving Lucquin two putts for the victory. Lucquin subsequently holed his 15 foot birdie putt for the outright playoff victory.

McIlroy finished the 2008 season having established himself in the top 100 of the world rankings and was ranked 36th on the European Tour Order of Merit.

‘09

After finishing second in the UBS Hong Kong Open in November 2008, McIlroy attained his highest world ranking position of 50, making him the youngest ever player to make the top 50. He finished the 2008 calendar year at 39th in the world rankings after finishing joint 3rd in the South African Open. This earned him an invitation to U.S. Masters in April 2009, only 18 months after turning pro. His first professional win came when he won the Dubai Desert Classic on 1 February 2009, this win took him to 16th in the world rankings.

In the 2009 WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, McIlroy reached the quarterfinals. In the first round he defeated Louis Oosthuizen 2 & 1, in the second round he beat Hunter Mahan 1-up, and in the third round he beat Tim Clark 4 & 3. He lost to Geoff Ogilvy in the quarterfinals, 2 & 1.