Rory McIlroy Recalls First Time Seeing Tiger Woods, Meeting Ernie Els

This week, the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open is being played at Mount Juliet, a well-known resort in Kilkenny, Ireland. He was asked about his personal memories of the golf course, and he had two interesting ones, one about Tiger Woods and the other, a chance to meet Ernie Els.

Before Rory McIlroy was a world famous, multi-tour, golf star, he was just a very good amateur golfer from Ireland. He was good enough to win a world amateur event for 9-10 age groups, held at Trump Doral in Miami. But when he was 13, he remembers seeing Tiger Woods win the WGC championship at Mount Juliet golf course in Ireland where the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open, hosted by McIlroy, is being played this week. It was in 2002.

“The last time I was on the 18th green here was during the prize ceremony when Tiger won,” he recalled for members of the media.

He said he sneaked under the rope around the 18th green and found a way to get himself behind Woods, who won the tournament, and others during the trophy presentation ceremony.

“It was the first time I ever watched Tiger play live,” he said. “I remember the first shot I ever saw him hit was a drive off the 5th hole, the par 5, and he hit a 2-iron into the green. It was really cool. I idolized him growing up and to actually see the man in the flesh was pretty exciting.”

McIlroy was not unlike many of his generation in their feelings about Woods, who was at the height of his game in the early 2000s. Woods definitely influenced many of today’s PGA Tour and European Tour players in their formative years.

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But the most amusing part was that he saw Woods’ golf glove folded over and sticking out of his back pocket.

“I could have reached and got it and ran,” McIlroy admitted. “It would have been a good story to tell him, but I obviously didn’t.”

The decision was no doubt a good one since Woods invited McIlroy to play in his World Challenge tournament in 2007, his first year as a professional.

Two years later in 2004, McIlroy was back at the World Golf Championship at Mount Juliet, again, as a spectator. That tournament was won by Ernie Els.

But in the two years that passed, McIlroy’s game was receiving international acclaim, so much so that at age 15, he’d been offered a golf scholarship in the U.S. and was playing many international junior events. He was selected for the Junior Ryder Cup team. He had gotten to know Darren Clarke, one of Northern Ireland’s most famous golfers. He had made the acquaintance of Chubby Chandler, who was Clarke’s agent.

Because of those associations, McIlroy went from sneaking under the rope behind the ceremony to going into the clubhouse to be introduced to Els.

“Certainly a lot’s changed in the last 17 years since the last time I was here,” he said.

A lot, including four major championships, a Players Championship, two PGA Tour and PGA of America Player of the Year awards, 28 tournament titles in all plus winning both the Race to Dubai and the FedEx Cup multiple times.

Now he’s continuing to work on his game as he plays this week and then goes to the Scottish Open and the British Open.

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