Rory McIlroy will turn 34 on May the 4th but whatever happens in his career from here on in, the Holywood-born golfer will still go down as Northern Ireland’s greatest golfer. Indeed, even if McIlroy is unable to win the career Grand Slam, his legacy in the game up until this point makes him, without question, the most successful Northern Irishman to ever pick up a golf club.
History beckons
Of course, at just 15/2 in the latest Masters betting odds to go all the way at Augusta National, it should be highlighted that there is every chance that McIlroy could become only the seventh man in history to win the Grand Slam.
The latest golf tips back this up as they make McIlroy the favourite to win the green jacket in April alongside Scottie Scheffler and Jon Rahm. If it were to happen, the reality is that it would be an achievement that was a long time coming, especially when you consider that McIlroy has been trying since 2015 to win the Masters – the only major that still eludes him.
In years gone by, it was evident that the weight of winning the Grand Slam weighed heavily on McIlroy who seemed to save his worst golf for Augusta National. It’s easy to attribute this to the extraordinary pressure on him to make history but, as of 2023, it’s clear that this is no longer the case.
McIlroy is naturally hopeful of joining the most elite company in the history of the game but it is an accomplishment that the 33-year-old says will not define who he is or what he has done.
It has taken time for McIlroy to adopt this mindset after multiple failures at the Masters but one of the driving forces behind his newfound philosophical view has undoubtedly been his success off the course.
McIlroy launches Symphony Ventures
In 2019, McIlroy launched a venture capital firm called Symphony Ventures which specializes in identifying emerging companies in order to help them grow.
Since going live, McIlroy has made a string of smart investments but none more so than his faith in the fitness tech company called Whoop, which the Northern Irishman invested in at the start of 2020 when the business was valued at £1 billion. Just 12 months later, Whoop was estimated to be worth £3 billion. This is not a one-off as McIlroy has fairly consistently ploughed millions into brands that have gone on to enjoy record valuations.
The link between his improvement on the golf course since becoming a successful investor is an unmistakable one as McIlroy has won over £50 million in prize money since opening his venture capital firm in 2019. The numbers don’t lie and tell an irrefutable story: this added balance of business interests off the golf course has allowed McIlroy to excel while on it.
The race to the Grand Slam
Indeed, McIlroy’s list of impressive achievements is now so diverse that the pressure of winning has completely fallen away.
However, the question remains: will this newfound success off the golf course and fresh outlook be enough to secure him the Grand Slam? The truth, for McIlroy at least, is that it doesn’t matter anymore. He has nothing left to prove.
