From Holywood to Hoylake: the rise of Rory

McIlroy joins Nicklaus and Tiger in elite major-winning group

For those in the know, from his earliest years in Holywood outside Belfast, it was just a matter of time before Rory McIlroy joined the ranks of golfing greats like Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus.

Like Woods, he was a child prodigy. Young McIlroy hit a 40-yard drive at the age of two and entertained visitors by repeatedly chipping balls from the end of his parents' hallway into the drum of their washing machine. He was featured on TV.