When Rory McIlroy tees off at Royal Melbourne on Thursday, he will receive a far warmer reception than he did at Royal Sydney in 2013. Twelve years ago, the Northern Irishman played party pooper to the Masters champion’s much-anticipated Australian…

He was “a little bit chubby and pudgy” with “the whitest legs you’ve ever seen”, but at only 16 years of age, Rory McIlroy showed he destined for stardom on his first trip to Australia. Twenty years ago, whispers spread…