How Rory McIlroy joined Tiger Woods and became the sixth player to win all four major championships
Rory McIlroy is now in the conversation of all-time greats after his accomplishments in 2025.
Winning the Masters made him just the sixth golfer ever to complete a career Grand Slam, joining an exclusive club that includes names like Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, and Gary Player. McIlroy also became the first European golfer to achieve this feat.
The path wasn’t always smooth. Despite early signs of promise—like shooting a record-breaking 61 at Royal Portrush at age 16—it took time for him to fulfil those high expectations fully.
Two years before McIlroy’s first major win, 21-time European Tour winner and former Ryder Cup captain Sam Torrance made a bold prediction about his future. Speaking on The Late Late Show in Ireland back in 2009, Torrance said:
Torrance called it: McIlroy was always going to be special
Woods’ reign over golf ended in 2009, a year after winning the US Open with a torn ACL. Injuries and issues away from the course kept him sidelined, and he wouldn’t claim another major for more than ten years.
Fans at the time didn’t realise they were witnessing the close of an era, but they were already looking for golf’s next big star. And when asked who might fill that role, Torrance pointed to a 20-year-old long-hitter from Northern Ireland.
Back in 2009, Torrance said: “You have got to look to young Rory McIlroy. He is the hottest prospect we have had in 20 years. It could be this year (that he wins a major). He won the Dubai classic, he has won on tour, he is ready for anything.”
“I knew him when he was 13 — he actually came to stay with me for a week,” Torrance continued. “He was a friend of my sons and we played a lot of golf — and I saw a huge talent in him. He has come on leaps and bounds since then.
“He handles the spotlight well, he has just been offered his card in America which he turned down and I thought was a move beyond his years. Any kid given a card in America would have snapped it up but he doesn’t need that.”
Torrance’s prediction turned out to be spot on. McIlroy used his time on the European Tour as preparation for what was coming next. He picked up his first PGA Tour win in 2010 before capturing his first major at that year’s US Open.
What Sir Nick Faldo had to say about Rory McIlroy back in 2009
Not everyone was convinced that McIlroy would become the next dominant force in golf. While Faldo didn’t doubt his talent, the six-time major champion raised concerns about how much time he spent weight training.
Faldo was quoted saying: “Throwing 200lb and 300lb weights around is not going to be good for your golf swing. The heaviest weight I would ever lift was my body weight. You can play some pretty good golf when you have just got some decent shoulders on you and a strong neck and a strong pair of hands.”
That viewpoint didn’t age well. McIlroy became an early adopter of the power-focused game that’s now seen across the Tour, especially with players like Bryson DeChambeau taking it even further.
He followed his own path, and it paid off for him in the end. That approach hasn’t changed one bit over the years.
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