McIlroy tipped for the top

RORY McILROY may be only 16 but already he is being hailed by Ryder Cup heroes Darren Clarke and Lee Westwood as a star of the future.

McIlroy is contesting his first professional tournament at the British Masters starting at the Forest of Arden, Warwickshire, this morning on the back of his magnificent triumph in the West of Ireland Championship at Rosses Point at Easter and a closing round of 67 in last week’s Irish Amateur Open in which he finished sixth.

The Darren Clarke Foundation is one of the avenues the Holywood prodigy has been using to progress his career, prompting Clarke to pay him some lavish compliments.