OWINGS MILLS, Md. – After Rory McIlroy was asked all the usual questions about how to reimagine the Tour Championship, his thoughts on the Ryder Cup captaincy and how the renovation to Caves Valley, site of this week’s BMW Championship, will play, he was asked one final question: Did he remember the first thing he bought when he made his first paycheck as a pro?
McIlroy didn’t need to think hard. It was 2007 and he had made $20,530 on the DP World Tour for a T-42 finish at the British Masters. He followed that up with a third-place finish at the Alfred Dunhill Cup, which banked $286,769, and a T-4 at the Madrid Open, where he cashed a check for $56,425. That’s when he made an eye-opening discovery.
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“I only had a debit card at the time and I checked my balance,” he said. “I was like holy (cow). I went straight to the jeweler.”
Rory McIlroy plays his second shot on the second hole during day four of the 153rd Open Championship at Royal Portrush Golf Club.
And bought a watch.
“With diamonds around it. It was horrific. I can’t believe, it was like the worst purchase ever,” he recalled on Wednesday during his pre-tournament press conference. “It was so bad.”
Asked for the make and model, he replied, “I do. It’s not the make and model that I’m sponsored by now, so I’m not going to say it.”
Spoken like a veteran pro whose days of buying bling are over and now has much better taste in watches.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Rory McIlroy reveals the first big purchase he made after turning pro
