Two Major titles, world number one, money titles on both sides of the Atlantic, and still only 23 - but as Rory McIlroy made crystal clear this weekend, he’s just getting started.
The tousle-haired, approachable Northern Irishman has ambitions way beyond his humble roots in Hollywood, a port town near Belfast, with an eye on golf’s most coveted records.
After clinching a European Tour-PGA Tour money race double in Singapore, McIlroy said his game was still a work in progress, and set his sights on Colin Montgomerie’s eight European merit wins, and even Jack Nicklaus’s 18 Majors.
‘Monty (Montgomerie) won eight order of merits in his prime, and I have won one so there is plenty of ground to make up,’ he said, before jetting off to this week’s Hong Kong Open.
‘Also, Jack Nicklaus won 18 Majors and I now have my name on two, so targeting the Majors will still be my main focus next season.’
McIlroy has already matched Woods by winning two Majors before his 24th birthday, and has his eye on a career Grand Slam. On Sunday, he became only the second man after Luke Donald to win both the European and PGA money titles.
‘Major, (world) number one, and then the money list, for sure,’ he said, when asked to rank this season’s achievements.
The tousle-haired, approachable Northern Irishman has ambitions way beyond his humble roots in Hollywood, a port town near Belfast, with an eye on golf’s most coveted records.
After clinching a European Tour-PGA Tour money race double in Singapore, McIlroy said his game was still a work in progress, and set his sights on Colin Montgomerie’s eight European merit wins, and even Jack Nicklaus’s 18 Majors.
‘Monty (Montgomerie) won eight order of merits in his prime, and I have won one so there is plenty of ground to make up,’ he said, before jetting off to this week’s Hong Kong Open.
‘Also, Jack Nicklaus won 18 Majors and I now have my name on two, so targeting the Majors will still be my main focus next season.’
McIlroy has already matched Woods by winning two Majors before his 24th birthday, and has his eye on a career Grand Slam. On Sunday, he became only the second man after Luke Donald to win both the European and PGA money titles.
‘Major, (world) number one, and then the money list, for sure,’ he said, when asked to rank this season’s achievements.