Rory McIlroy Player Profile And What's In The Bag

Article Updated in January 2023

Rory McIlroy has now won 38 professional tournaments, with the Dubai Desert Classic being his third win in that tournament. In a thrilling finish, McIlroy birdied the last hole to pip Patrick Reed to the post. Get all the information and stats on Rory McIlroy's career and recent win here.

• Player Profile
• Last 10 Events
• Key Stats (PGA Tour: 2021/2022)
• Official World Golf Ranking - Last 3 Years
• What's In The Bag
• How Much Did Rory Earn Last Year

IT WAS somehow inevitable that, after their verbal spat on the practice green on the eve of the tournament that Rory McIlroy and Patrick Reed would end up going head to head for the Dubai Desert Classic title.

You can be sure that the DP World Tour hierarchy were rooting for McIlroy to come out on top against LIV Golf’s Reed, who is one of the most controversial characters in the game. And he did so in some style, holing a 15-foot birdie putt at the last to beat Reed by a single stroke.

McIlroy began the day four shots ahead of the American but one thing that can never be doubted is Reed’s ability to dig deep and he caught the Northern Irishman after going to the turn in 32 and then starting the back nine with an eagle at the 10th and birdies at the 11th and 13th, at which point he found himself leading by one.

But McIlroy got himself level with a birdie at the 13th. Reed dropped a shot at the 16th and did well to save par at the 322-yard 17th. And with McIlroy also dropping a shot at the 15th, they were tied for the lead with McIlroy playing the 17th and Reed on the par-five final hole.

McIlroy nearly drove the 17th and then two-putted for a birdie to take him back into the lead. He then had to play the 18th, a hole with bad memories. He found the water in 2022 when in position to win and did the same thing in the third round.

Reed birdied the hole but this time McIlroy managed to match him after nearly putting his drive in the water. He ended the week with a 68 and a winning total of 19 under par. Reed closed with a 65.

McIlroy said: “It was a battle all day and a battle all week. I didn’t have my best game this week but I managed my game really well.

"I had to focus all day and forget who else was on the leaderboard. There have been a ton of positives and I am going to enjoy this win. It is a great start to the year. It was nice to be able to close out with a birdie."

Player Profile

McIlroy is a four-time major winner but his last one came in 2014. His victory in the Dubai Desert Classic was his 38th as a professional. It was the third time he had won the tournament.

He has won 23 times on the PGA Tour, with career earnings in America of $68m. He is fourth on the all-time list. He finished top of the pile in the FedEx Cup in 2021-22, winning three times and pocketing $8,654,566 in prize money on the PGA Tour alone. He has also won 45m euros on the DP World Tour.

He has now won 23 times on the PGA Tour and 15 on the DP World Tour. His first professional victory came at the Dubai Desert Classic in 2009 when he was just 19 years old.

His best year on the PGA Tour came in 2012, when he won four times. His victory at the Dubai Desert Classic means he has now won five times in 15 months.

He is top of the world rankings, second in the DP World Tour standings and 19th in the FedEx Cup standings. He has made one PGA Tour start in the 2022-23 season, winning the CJ Cup.

He married Erica Stoll, whom he met at the 2012 Ryder Cup, and they have a daughter, Poppy.

His stroke average this season is 67.286. He is first in driving distance, hitting the ball an astonishing 349.5 yards on average, finding 69% of fairways and hitting 70.83% of greens in regulation. He averages 5.25 birdies per round.

Last 10 Events

Hero Dubai Desert Classic - 1st

DP World Tour Championship - 4th

The CJ Cup in South Carolina - 1st

Alfred Dunhill Links Championship - T4th

DS Automobiles Italian Open - 4th

BMW PGA Championship - T2nd

Tour Championship (72 Hole Scores) - 1st

BMW Championship - T8th

FedEx St Jude Championship - CUT

The 150th Open Championship - 3rd

Key Stats (PGA Tour: 2021/2022)

Driving Distance - 321.3 Yards

Driving Accuracy - 58.06%

Greens in Regulation - 69.91%

Sand Saves - 61.63%

Putts Per Round - 28.57

Scoring Average - 68.670

End of Year World Ranking Position

2020: 4

2021: 9

2022: 1

What's In The Bag

Stealth Plus 9.0° Driver

Stealth 2 Plus 15.0° 3-Wood

Stealth Plus 19.0° 5-Wood

Rors Proto Irons 3-PW

Spider X Hydro Blast

TP5x

Career Earnings

Rory McIlroy had a very successful year in 2022. He won the FedEx Cup for the third time, he also regained his world number one status. McIlroy earned $28,354,566 on the PGA Tour, including the $18,000,000 bonus for winning the FedEx Cup. He also had nine top ten finishes in his DP World Tour season and won the Race to Dubai, earning €3,970,752 ($4,181,718).  Taking all of this into account, McIlroy earned around $44,536,284 on the course (including bonuses) in 2022.

Related: How Much Did Rory McIlroy Earn in 2022?