Rory McIlroy ensured the 2011 season would be an even more memorable one for him when he was awarded the MBE in the New Year Honours List.
Rory McIlroy set his sights on more major glory as he made an emotional return to the golf club where his journey to sporting stardom began.
The home club of Rory McIlroy erupted with pride as the mercurial golfer sealed his US Open win.
Fourteen years after Tiger Woods won his first Major with a record score at The Masters, Rory McIlroy has done the same at the US Open.
As a beaming Rory McIlroy battled his way through the crowds at Congressional Country Club proudly clutching the US Open trophy, it was apparent that a new phenomenon was sweeping across America.
While the drinks were flowing in his hometown of Holywood following Rory McIlroy’s remarkable performance in the US Open Championship, praise for ‘golf’s next superstar’ came pouring in.
We look at the rise of Rory McIlroy, from the moment he hit a 40 yard drive at the age of two right up to being crownded US Open Champion.