Rory bigger than his sponsors

Rory McIlroy’s stellar form this year has seen his online popularity surpass three of the biggest global brands who sponsor him, a study has shown.

McIlroy ended an 18-month barren spell by winning the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth earlier this year and back-to-back major victories at the Open Championship and US PGA Championship took him back to world number one.

All that, coupled with a successful Ryder Cup defence by Europe and a host of individual accolades, have taken his online brand reputation past Nike, Bose and Omega, according to data analytics company Adoreboard.