Legacy Leaders Magazine


McIlroy obviously possesses credentials to contend at the very highest level and is quick to point out the level of success he has enjoyed during his wait to win another of those events that define careers.

“I haven’t won a major in the last seven years but I’ve basically won everything else,” he said.

“I’ve won the Players Championship, I’ve won FedEx Cups, I’ve won Race to Dubais, I’ve won World Golf Championships, I’ve won national opens. You know, I’ve done a lot in the past seven years.

“That hasn’t included a major championship but I’ve played good enough golf in those seven years to win one and I’m staying as patient as I possibly can and, as I say, just giving myself chances.”

Patience, he says, is the key. “I don’t think there’s anything I should or could do differently. I think the one thing that’s held me back, especially in the majors over the last few years, is just getting off to slow starts.

“Take Portrush out of it [where he started the 2019 Open in his native Northern Ireland with a ruinous quadruple-bogey eight].

“Opening up at Augusta with a 72 or a 71 and not shooting that 67 or 68 that puts you right in the thick of the tournament from the very start.

“But I can’t go into the first round of a tournament or on a Wednesday night under pressure to try and shoot a good score. I just have to go out there and let it happen.

“Historically when I’ve got myself up there early in a tournament I’ve been able to stay there and capitalise on that start.”

Capitalisation of a different kind is at the heart of McIlroy’s life away from the golf course, with a growing business empire that he hopes will sustain him beyond his competitive days.

“I’ve no ambition of playing on the senior tour,” he said. “If I’m not playing top level golf and competing with the best players in the world I just don’t think I will want to play.

“But when that day comes, hopefully not for a long time – another 15 or 18 years – I don’t want to be sitting in my house thinking ‘OK what do I do?’

“I want to be able to transition into something that I have an interest in that I can get a little bit of buzz from. So yeah, over the last few years I’ve been, I guess, exposed to the business side of things and I’ve started to take an interest in it.”

McIlroy is part of an investment partnership called Symphony Ventures which is involved in 20 companies across golf, wellness and health. Among them are Troon, the worldwide operator that runs Yas Links which staged last week’s Abu Dhabi event.

Other projects include software for the recreational golf industry and Puttery, a hi-tech version of mini golf. “We’ve invested in a lot of different companies but companies that I’m passionate about and I want to be involved in,” he said.

“Stuff to do with wellness, technology and things that can really make a difference, I guess.”

Moving into the world of business feels natural to him. “Yes, I’m instinctively interested in it,” he agreed.

“I haven’t been hugely focused on money but I want to plan for the future. I want to go about things the right way and be smart about it all.

“I have a thirst for knowledge that I probably didn’t have in school. All these things that I might have learned in school or if I’d went to university I’m sort of learning now.

“The reason that I read a lot of books and listen to a lot of podcasts is because I want to learn and I want to expand my knowledge on a whole bunch of different things.

“And one of those things has been business and investing and setting up my own investment vehicle.”

The golf course still trumps the boardroom, though. Competing against the very best players remains McIlroy’s top priority.

This week his focus is the Slync.IO Dubai Desert Classic on the famed Emirates Course where he won his first tour event in 2009 and triumphed again six years later.

When I suggest adding trophy collection to his business empire he smiles. “There you go,” he said. “Trophy collecting would be very nice.

“The biggest buzz I always get is coming down the last few holes with the chance to win a golf tournament. It doesn’t get any better than that for me.”



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