Rory McIlroy has made more than £79million on the PGA Tour and has an estimated net worth of around £260m, but the Northern Irishman still remembers his first major purchase
Rory McIlroy was mortified to admit his first significant purchase after he started to get paid on the PGA Tour. With an estimated net worth of around £260million and PGA Tour earnings of £79m, McIlroy has come a long way from the wide-eyed prospect that burst onto the scene.
The golf legend became just the sixth player to complete the career Grand Slam after clinching the Masters earlier this year. However, his first victory on the PGA Tour came just two days before his 21st birthday at the 2010 Quail Hollow Championship.
From that maiden win, he pocketed around £650,000 and officially joined the PGA Tour that same year. Ahead of this weekend’s BMW Championship, McIlroy confessed to making a “horrific” purchase when he received his first paycheque, per the Irish Star.
The 36-year-old specified he bought a watch when asked if he knew what his first big buy was. And McIlroy appeared bashful as he went into more detail: “With diamonds around it. It was horrific. I can’t believe it was like the worst purchase ever. It was so bad.”
Despite this early misstep, McIlroy remains a watch aficionado with an impressive collection. However, he does regret the diamond-encrusted timepiece he bought in 2010.
When asked if he remembered the make and model of the watch, McIlroy responded: “I do. It’s not the make and model that I’m sponsored by now, so I’m not going to say it.”
Omega has been one of McIlroy’s sponsor since 2013, with special edition timepieces from the company featuring in his collection. Not only is McIlroy an ambassador for the company, but he’s also been spotted sporting Audemars Piguet watches.
Despite expressing regret over an undisclosed watch purchase, McIlroy took the opportunity during his media slot at Caves Valley Golf Club to discuss the upcoming Ryder Cup. The tournament is set to take place at Bethpage Black Course in New York from September 23, and McIlroy is already engaging in psychological warfare.
McIlroy confessed he has been approached to serve as a playing captain for Team Europe but has consistently declined the offer. He argued the increased responsibilities and media duties make it less attractive.
Keegan Bradley is set to lead Team USA and could become the first playing captain since Arnold Palmer in 1963. With less than six weeks until the 2025 Ryder Cup, McIlroy suggested Bradley’s role would be challenging if he decides to take it on.
“I don’t think you can do it,” said the Holywood icon. “I just think the commitments that a captain has the week of…you think about the extra media that a captain has to do, you think about the extra meetings that the captains have to do with the vice captains, with the PGA of America.
“In Keegan’s case, preparing your speech for the opening ceremony…just there’s a lot of things that people don’t see that the captain does the week of the Ryder Cup, especially now that the Ryder Cup has become so big.
“If you’d have said it 20 years ago, I’d say, yeah, it was probably possible to do, but how big of a spectacle and everything that’s on the line in a Ryder Cup now, I just think it would be a very difficult position to be in. So I just think for those reasons.
“Then the captain isn’t going to be on the course all day, so really the captain’s only going to be able to play one session on Friday, one session on Saturday. Would you rather not have a player that has the flexibility to go twice if he’s playing well? There’s a lot of different things that go into it, and that’s why I think — look, it’s just my opinion, but I think it would just be very difficult to do.”
#Rory #McIlroy #reveals #worst #purchase #260million #net #worth #bad
