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Crowned as one of the worlds’ best golfers, the 27-year-old Northern Irishman came from humble beginnings. Born in Northern Ireland in 1989, to a modest family, Rory McIlroy turned pro in 2007 at the age of 18. Since then, he has won 13 tournaments on the European Tour and 11 on the PGA tour, plus three other tournaments in other tours around the world.
Over his career, he has earned $30.6 million from the PGA Tour and $32 million from the European Tour. The PGA star has received roughly $146 million from deals with Nike, Titleist, Omega and other heavy hitters. That’s a total of $209 million in earnings. As he is from Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom, 52% of his income goes to the government, and factoring in his $20 million lawsuit settlement from 2015, his net worth is reduced to about $63 million. Still, that’s 780 times bigger than the average American household net worth.
Rory McIlroy Net Worth as of 2019: $63 Million
2007 – 2010
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Rory McIlroy began playing golf at age seven and was the youngest member of Holywood Golf Club. His father supported his golf training by working several jobs, and his mother took on additional shifts at the local 3M plant. Young McIlroy did not disappoint. He began gaining traction as early as his teenage years, competing in amateur tournaments in Europe and America. In August 2006, he won the European Amateur at Biella Golf Club in Italy, with a score of 274.
In 2007, he became a professional golfer. Within the first year, he earned $305,000 on the European Tour and finished in 95th place on the Order of Merit list. By the second year, he doubled his annual income to $765,969. But it wasn’t until 2009, when he broke into the PGA, that he began making the big bucks. That year, he made $849,000 from the PGA Tour and a staggering $3.97 million from the European Tour, turning himself into a multi-millionaire at just 20-years-old.
By then he was bringing in roughly $1 million a year from endorsement deals, the biggest of which was with Titleist, a golf ball manufacturer.
2011 – 2013
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In 2011, Rory McIlroy won the U.S. Open, banking $1.44 million for the first place finish. He became the youngest winner since Bobby Jones in 1923. The victory elevated Rory McIlroy’s position in the Official World Golf Ranking to a then career high of number four.
Endorsements poured in, the most notable of which was Nike’s $100 million deal. Other contracts with Bose, Omega, Oakley, EA Sports, Titleist, Audemars Piguet, Santander and Jumeirah Group spanning 2008-2016, roughly summed up to $46 million.
2014 – 2017
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In 2014, McIlroy captured the Open Championship, the World Golf Championship, and the PGA Championship in spectacular motion. After his victory Jack Nicklaus said: “Rory is an unbelievable talent. I think Rory has an opportunity to win 15 or 20 majors or whatever he wants to do if he wants to keep playing. I love his swing, I love his rhythm, I love his moxie. He’s got a little swagger there, it’s a little bit cocky but not offensive.” McIlroy banked $14.7 million in prize money alone that year.
Unfortunately, the following year, he got into a dispute against Horizon Sports Management, which inked a 5% fee in his $100 million contract with Nike. The player changed agencies, and Horizon sued. The whole ordeal cost him a good $20 million to settle.
Still, $20 million is just peanuts for the golfer in the grand scheme of things. He’s already made $34,465,996 in prize money alone at this point in his career.
2018
Golfing star, Rory McIlroy will take part in the Honda Classic tournament as part of his preparations for the Masters later this year.
2019
Rory McIlroy’s new year started with another disappointing final round at Kapalua’s Plantation Course where after few minutes he was removed from his final round at the Tournament of Champions.
