Rory McIlroy says $10-million prize doesn’t ‘mean much to me anymore’
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland watches his tee shot on the 11th hole as he practices for the TOUR Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta on Sept. 23.
The prospect of winning $10 million isn’t enough to get Rory McIlroy out of bed in the morning.
Well, that’s not entirely accurate. The No. 2 golfer in the world will still compete in the Tour Championship by Coca-Cola beginning Thursday at East Lake Golf Course in Atlanta in hopes of winning the FedEx Cup bonus, but Wednesday he said the money doesn’t affect his play.
“Luckily, that amount of money doesn’t sort of mean much to me anymore,” McIlroy said according to USA Today. “It will go in the bank and if I want to buy something nice, I will. I mean, like, it’s nice to think that you could win $10 million this week, but that’s not what excites me. It excites me to play well and to try and win.”
And win, he has. McIlroy, 26, has won four majors -- the U.S. Open (2011), the British Open (2014) and the PGA Championship (2012, 2014) -- and 11 PGA Tour events since he turned pro in 2007. Since then, that’s amounted to more than $28 million in PGA Tour winnings.
And win, he has. This year alone, he’s won two tournaments and finished in the top 10 another seven times. That all adds up to more than $4.6 million in prize money, despite missing several events because of an ankle injury.
Despite all that cash, he doesn’t appear to have completely lost his grip on reality as his early statement might have suggested.
“We’re playing for over a million dollars every week,” McIlroy said. “We’re in such a fortunate position and I think everyone on Tour realizes that. The majority of the guys that are out here know that their kids will be OK, their kids can go to college, their kids will probably be OK as well. So to be able to set up the next couple of generations of your family for a nice life, it’s very fortunate and very privileged that we’re able to do that.”
Follow Matt Wilhalme on Twitter @mattwilhalme
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