Rory McIlroy regrets 'horrific' first purchase with PGA Tour winnings

Irish Daily Mirror

6 hours ago

Rory McIlroy, who ranks second on the all-time career earnings list behind Tiger Woods, still recalls his first significant purchase after receiving his initial PGA Tour payout.
McIlroy has an estimated net worth of €214 million and career earnings of €91,780,751 from his time on the course. He became the sixth golfer to complete the Grand Slam after clinching the Masters earlier this year.
However, his first victory on the PGA Tour came just two days before his 21st birthday at the 2010 Quail Hollow Championship.
This maiden win earned him €1million, and it was also the year he joined the PGA Tour. McIlroy has confessed to making a "horrific" purchase when he received his first paycheck.
When quizzed about his first major buy after joining the PGA Tour, McIlroy recalled splurging on a watch. "With diamonds around it. It was horrific. I can't believe it was like the worst purchase ever. It was so bad," he admitted, reports the Irish Star.
Despite this early misstep, McIlroy remains a watch aficionado with an impressive collection. However, he does regret the diamond-encrusted timepiece he bought back in 2010.
When asked about the make and model of the watch, McIlroy responded: "I do. It's not the make and model that I'm sponsored by now, so I'm not going to say it."
Omega has backed McIlroy since 2013, and limited edition timepieces crafted by the firm feature in his collection. McIlroy serves as a brand ambassador for Omega, though he's also been spotted sporting Audemars Piguet watches.
Whilst McIlroy expressed regret over buying the mysterious timepiece, he also utilised his media session at the Caves Valley Golf Club to address the Ryder Cup. The tournament will take place at Bethpage Black Course in New York from Sept. 23-28, and McIlroy has already begun playing psychological warfare.
McIlroy acknowledged that he's been approached to serve as a playing captain for Team Europe, but rejected the proposition every time it's been put forward. McIlroy then insisted it wasn't feasible due to the increased responsibilities and media duties.
Keegan Bradley will lead Team U.S. and might become the first playing captain since Arnold Palmer in 1963. With fewer than six weeks remaining until the 2025 Ryder Cup, McIlroy suggested that Bradley's position would be taxing if he accepts the challenge.
"I don't think you can do it," McIlroy said. "I just think the commitments that a captain has the week of -- you think about the extra media that a captain has to do, you think about the extra meetings that the captains have to do with the vice captains, with the PGA of America.
"In Keegan's case, preparing your speech for the opening ceremony -- just there's a lot of things that people don't see that the captain does the week of the Ryder Cup, especially now that the Ryder Cup has become so big.
"If you'd have said it 20 years ago, I'd say, yeah, it was probably possible to do, but how big of a spectacle and everything that's on the line in a Ryder Cup now, I just think it would be a very difficult position to be in. So I just think for those reasons.
"Then the captain isn't going to be on the course all day, so really the captain's only going to be able to play one session on Friday, one session on Saturday. Would you rather not have a player that has the flexibility to go twice if he's playing well? There's a lot of different things that go into it, and that's why I think -- look, it's just my opinion, but I think it would just be very difficult to do."