Stephen Crooks still remembers the moment at Holywood Golf Club that he knew a skinny teenager with curly hair named Rory McIlroy was bound for stardom.
“When he was 15, Rory drove the par-four 17th at Holywood 340 yards to the green,” Crooks, the head professional at Holywood, says. “There’s a water hazard at the 300-yard mark that most players can’t clear. That’s when I knew that there was something special about him.”
“People called him the ‘wee superstar’. His work ethic was incredible, he played seven days a week and practiced ten hours a day outside of school. He was always so single-minded about getting the most out of his talent. If you look at photos and videos of Rory as a child he
