- 35-year-old professional golfer Rory McIlroy grew to become the sixth participant to finish a profession grand slam after successful the Masters Match Sunday for the primary time. In a press convention in 2022, McIlroy mirrored on his success as much as then and gave some timeless recommendation to a fellow Gen Z golfer that goes far past the world of sports activities.
Rory McIlroy received the Masters for the primary time Sunday, cementing his identify in golf historical past and netting him a $4.2 million payday, however his recommendation for attending to the highest has extra to do with life than sports activities.
The 35-year-old McIlroy clinched his first Masters Sunday since going professional in 2007, and after a nerve-wracking sudden-death win, he’s now solely the sixth professional golfer ever to finish a profession grand slam by successful all 4 main golf championships: the Masters Match, the PGA Championship, the U.S. Open, and the Open Championship. Among the many different 5 are golf legends like Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus. Due to his golf success, McIlroy has made greater than $100 million in prize cash over his profession, and reportedly has a internet value of about $200 million.
Throughout a press convention following the 2022 CJ Cup in South Carolina, McIlroy was requested a shock query by a then 20-year-old up-and-coming professional, Tom Kim, about managing his success.
“What’s it like having so much success as a young player? Coming out and many years on tour, how do you manage all that,” Kim requested McIlroy.
Chuckling, McIlroy gave his Gen Z colleague some professional golfer recommendation that not solely applies to world-famous athletes, but in addition to profession professionals seeking to attain the highest of their recreation.
“I think the biggest thing that I realized is managing your time,” McIlroy mentioned. “You’re going to be pulled in so many various instructions. You’ve received one, two, three, 4, I can see 5 sponsors on you at this level, proper?
“So it’s just trying to manage your time to realize what got you to this position, right? Why are you a two-time PGA Tour winner, why are you such a great player? And it’s the time that you put into it and it’s the practice, it’s not losing sight of that.”
On the finish, McIlroy mentioned juggling his duties adequately helps him keep on the prime, though he mentioned it’s tougher to take care of the crown than to win it.
“I’ve almost found it easier to get to number one in the world than staying there. I think staying there is harder. I think you’ve got a bull’s-eye on your back, you’ve got to work harder, everyone’s coming after you. That’s the one thing I would say is just managing your time and not forgetting why you’re in this position and why you’re so lucky to get to play with me the next two days,” McIlroy added.
McIlroy is presently the second-best participant on the earth behind final yr’s Masters winner Scottie Scheffler, in response to the PGA Tour. In 2022, McIlroy completed second to Scheffler within the Masters, dropping by three strokes.
McIlroy has fallen wanting successful the Masters greater than as soon as, and has confronted a number of setbacks—even this yr, he suffered a slight elbow harm simply earlier than the Masters and scored a disastrous double-bogey on the primary gap—however he made historical past with Sunday’s win.
Talking throughout the post-tournament press convention, McIlroy mentioned for years he carried the burden of attempting to affix the ranks of the professionals who’ve accomplished a profession grand slam, and alongside the best way noticed a lot of his friends win the Masters and earn the esteemed inexperienced jacket earlier than him. Nonetheless, McIlroy mentioned he was by no means shaken.
“It’s been 14 long years, but thankfully I got the job done,” he mentioned.
This story was initially featured on Fortune.com
