History in the making: who and what Rory McIlroy needs to conquer

How many times have we heard a sports star talking about a legend from a different generation they grew up watching on tv, wide-eyed and wondering would they be like them one day?

Rory McIlroy went a step further, when as an eight-year-old prodigy he proclaimed on the BBC he was going to turn pro in the future and win all the major championships. Brave talk from a young man, but his intentions were clear two years later when he also wrote to Tiger Woods after winning the U10 World Championships: “I’m coming to get you”.

The transformation from dreams to reality is something very rare, regardless of the prodigious ability. The jump alone from amateur to professionalism is huge but to become the world’s best takes an awful amount of hard work and discipline.