WHAT NEXT?

After a decade at the top and four Major titles, what does Rory need from the next 10 years to become a true great?

- Michael Weston

It’s 2009. Golf’s next superstar is on the verge of squandering a six-shot lead at the Dubai Desert Classic. With two play-off defeats to his name, he’s already got a monkey on his back – incredible, really, given he’s just 19 years old. The much-hyped youngster from Northern Ireland holds his nerve, just, to win his first European Tour title. Rory McIlroy has arrived. This is just the start, and everyone knows it.

There’s something different about this player. It’s not just the way he strikes the ball. More impressive, really, is his whole demeanour. This kid looks special. A decade on and his career is at a crossroads. There aren’t many noteworthy gaps in his CV. The titles have come readily wherever he has played. He’s won most of the big ones, too: The Players, the World Golf Championships and all but one of the Majors. The last of these, however, came nearly six years ago. He’s stalled on four, winless in 20 – too long for a player of his talent. If Major victories are the ultimate measure of greatness, where does he stand? The next ten years will determine this.

We’re all willing him on. He’s been a fans’ favourite ever since he burst on to the scene with that curly mop of hair and schoolboy smile. We marvelled at the swing and we enjoyed listening to him, too. “I’ve been getting interviewed since I was about seven or eight years old. I’m pretty good at this talking thing, I think,” he quipped in a press conference at his first Major (the 2007 Open), where he won the Silver Medal for low amateur. It didn’t take long before he backed up all the hype.