Rory McIlroy
Golf
BIOGRAPHY
Rory McIlroy represented Ireland in the men’s individual golf stroke play tournament at two Olympic Games, finishing tied 4th at Tokyo 2020 and tied 5th at Paris 2024.
His Tokyo near-miss was one of the most dramatic moments of the Games – he was involved in a seven-man playoff for the bronze medal, was eliminated on the second hole, and afterwards remarked: “I never tried so hard in my life to finish third.”
Born in Holywood, Co. Down, McIlroy grew up playing golf for Ireland through his junior and amateur career – a choice he carried into the Olympics, opting to represent Ireland rather than Great Britain as he was entitled to do as a Northern Irish athlete. He declined to play at Rio 2016 due to concerns about the Zika virus. From the age of seven he was a member of Holywood Golf Club and won the European Amateur Championship in 2006 at 17. He turned professional in 2007 and won his first major, the US Open, at 22. A six-time major champion, he completed the career Grand Slam at the 2025 Masters – becoming only the sixth golfer in history to win all four major championships.
He spent more than 100 weeks at world number one and won five consecutive Ryder Cup matches in 2023 as Europe reclaimed the trophy.
OTHER GOLF ATHLETES
GOLF NEWS
In The News – April 13th
A strong week for Team Ireland across multiple sports, with standout performances and important developments across the high-performance system. Golf Rory McIlroy delivered a historic back-to-back victory at The Masters Tournament, finishing on -12 to secure his sixth major title. The win further underlines his place among the greats of the game and marks a [...]
Team Ireland Weekend Highlights, April 12–13, 2025
From Augusta to Dublin, Belgium to the Basque Country, Irish athletes produced standout performances across a range of Olympic sports this weekend. Rory McIlroy Completes Career Grand Slam Rory McIlroy delivered a defining moment for Irish sport this weekend, winning the 2025 Masters Tournament and becoming just the sixth golfer in history — and [...]
DIFFICULT DAY AT LE GOLF NATIONAL FOR MAGUIRE AND MEADOW
Leona Maguire and Stephanie Meadow were back in action at Le Golf National in round two of the women’s singles today. Meadow carded a round of 74; four better than yesterday, but Maguire will be frustrated after signing for a round of 79 today. GOLF It was another unforgiving day for Stephanie Meadow and Leona [...]
KATE O CONNOR MAKES HISTORY AS FIRST IRISH OLYMPIC HEPTATHLETE
Team Ireland’s Kate O’Connor made history today becoming Ireland’s first ever heptathlete to compete at an Olympic Games. The Newry native competed in two of the seven events this morning; 100m hurdles and High Jump to sit on 1908 points (19th overall) ahead of the next two events this evening. Leona Maguire and Stephanie Meadow are back [...]
DAY 12 EVENING REPORT FROM TEAM IRELAND
Irish track star Rhasidat Adeleke finished second in her semi-final of the women’s 400m to advance to her first ever Olympic final on Friday night. In doing so Adeleke becomes the first Irish woman ever to make a sprint final at an Olympic Games. In Taekwondo in the repechage round Jack Woolley put in an improved performance, but ultimately [...]
Day 8 – Team Ireland Paris 2024
Team Ireland’s Gymnastics superstar Rhys McClenaghan has won an Olympic gold medal in the Pommel Horse final this evening, with a magnificent score of 15.533, becoming the first Irish gymnast to ever win an Olympic medal. Cyclist Ben Healy secured Ireland’s best ever result in an Olympic road race with a brilliant 10th place finish this afternoon. Team [...]