LONDON: Rory McIlroy has been named the European Tour’s Golfer of the Year for the second time in three seasons, capping an outstanding 2014 for the world number one.
The 25-year-old Northern Irishman landed the British Open title in July and the US PGA Championship crown in August – the third and fourth majors of his career – before winning three points as Europe retained the Ryder Cup in September.
“To be named the European Tour’s Golfer of the Year for a second time is a huge honour and one I am extremely proud of,” said McIlroy who also won this season’s BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth and the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in Ohio.
“If I had won any one of those four titles it would have been a good year but to win all four...and to be part of another fantastic European victory in the Ryder Cup means it is a great one,” he added in a news release.
Meanwhile, McIlroy said that golf should be made quicker at grassroots level in order to attract more young players to the sport.
“Everything’s so instant now and everyone doesn’t have as much time as they used to,” the Northern Irishman told BBC Radio 4. “So you maybe try some way of speeding the game up.”
McIlroy, who won the British Open and the US PGA in 2014, taking his tally of major wins to four, added: “The viewership in golf is up, but the participation is down.
“People enjoy watching the game, but gone are the days that you could spend five or six hours on a golf course.”
While golf’s rule-makers have a reputation for conservatism, McIlroy says it would be in their interest to attract more young people to the sport.
“I don’t think they’d be against it, especially if they wanted to get participation levels up,” he added. “I don’t think they need to alter tournament play formats. I think that works very well. It’s the grassroots, definitely not at our level.”AGENCIES
