Tiger tales motivate McIlroy

RORY McILROY has revealed comparisons with world number one Tiger Woods are making him ‘more motivated’.

The 19-year-old, who has taken the golfing world by storm since turning professional last season, is considered by many experts and players to have more talent that Woods had at the same age.

But McIlroy is refusing to allow such praise, along with his new found fame and fortune, distract him and instead he prefers to use the compliments to his advantage.

He admitted: “Yes, there’s a bit of pressure, but it’s up to me as to how I deal with it and how much importance I place on it.

“I just try to move those comments to one side and keep on practising hard and playing golf.

“It’s nice to know that people believe in me and see potential in me. That’s what I’m working towards.”

He insisted: “Those sorts of comments make me more motivated. I’ve got to believe in myself but there’s obviously something very flattering when people liken me to Tiger Woods.

“That’s an amazing accolade.

“Now, I have to work as hard as possible to see if they’re right. It’s all down to hard work and dedication and the reward is doing well and trying to be the best.”

McIlroy has known Woods for four years and still laughs when recounting their first meeting.

He smiled: “I was 15. It was in California and Scotty Cameron, the putter maker, introduced us. I was a bit shocked and Tiger stuck his hand out and he said, ‘Hi, I’m Tiger,’. I think I just started laughing and said, ‘Yeah, I know’.

“I was thinking how amazing it was to be standing there in front of Tiger Woods. He’s an exceptional player now and was an exceptional player then. I was stunned.

“I loved it though. I wanted to be playing alongside this man, I wanted to learn from him, to learn from the best.”

McIlroy, who made his Masters debut earlier this month, enjoyed another first this week when winning a place on the Sunday Times Rich List. The teenager is ranked 18th in Ireland’s young rich list with earnings of €3.4m.

“It’s lovely but it’s not what drives me,” he said. “When you grow up playing golf and have spent years watching people like Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods, then it’s the golf that’s important. There are no guarantees in anything and wanting to be wealthy is not the reason to try to excel in sport. It just doesn’t work that way. In golf it’s all about the tournaments and the actual game.

When I was 12-years-old, the money never crossed my mind. But when I turned professional it became something that was important because I had to be able to afford to travel and compete and that takes money.

“So, I had an additional incentive to perform well. But mostly, it was for the sheer desire to do well and play good golf. And as my game improves, there’s an opportunity to earn a lot, so I decided not to concentrate on the money, and to simply concentrate on the game. If I do well, the money side of things will take care of itself.”

McIlroy, who is managed by Andrew ‘Chubby’ Chandler, is intent on using his earnings to change the lives of the people who sacrificed so much to develop his career — his parents.

McIlroy: “You wouldn’t believe the sacrifices that were made for me by my mum and dad, Rosie and Gerry. They’ve been fantastic and they really believed in me from the start, but never put any pressure on me. Dad worked at the bar at CIYMS sports club and took on an extra job at a pub in Holywood to earn a bit more. And mum started working night shifts in the 3M factory in Bangor to meet the bills I’d be running up. There were added expenses to be paid before I even started winning anything. They never complained and they just got on with it. It’s only now when I think about it that it’s a shock to realise how much they did for me, emotionally and physically.

They worked their hearts out so I’d have a chance. I always knew they were right behind me, but it’s probably only in the last few years that I really understood what it took.

“We didn’t even have a proper holiday for about 10 years, because I was off playing golf all the time. It’s like I can repay them in some way, but it’s just money that’s available to me now. What they did was sacrifice time and energy and the money they had to earn by working night and day.

So, now it’s great to be able to take them to places they like, whether it be in hotels or holidays in places like America because they really love it there.”

McIlroy’s latest investment is a new home at the five-star Lough Erne Resort and Spa in County Fermanagh

He said: “It’s a lovely big detached four-bedroom house between the fourth hole and the fifth tee. I’ve just bought it and now I’m trying to get it furnished, which isn’t going too well, but I think mum is going to sort that out. So I hope we’ll be up to stay in July.

“It’s really nice to be able to buy a house at my age, but I only expect to use it about 10 times a year. It’s really for mum and dad, a place for them to go and relax after all their hard work which helped me get here in the first place.”