"My first big check was $450,000" – When 23-yo Rory McIlroy spoke about staying humble amid rising fortune

Rory McIlroy once revealed how he stayed humble amid earning a great fortune as his career went up. The Northern Irish golfer was 23 years old when this statement was recorded. McIlroy spoke with journalist Lee Hawkins as the duo sat down for an interview in 2012.

By the time this was recorded, the professional golfer had already been playing in the PGA Tour for almost five years. By 2012, McIlroy had already secured victory in six PGA Tour events and became a two-time golf major winner. In the clip by the Wall Street Journal, McIlroy described his growing fortune. (1:50 onwards)

"My first big check that I won on the golf course was $450,000. So, you know, when you—it hits you. I remember going to, just take some money out of an ATM one day, and I just, checked my balance."

In 2012, Rory McIlroy was on the 88th rank of PGA Tour earnings with $13,357,560. He further explained how he looked at things down the way.

"And how you see all these numbers on the screen, and you're like, ‘Whoa, I actually have that much money.’ You know, it's something that—that sort of hits you. And at that point, I didn't know what that really meant. But, you know, you learn these things along the way..."

McIlroy got his first professional win at the 2010 Quail Hollow Championship, where he beat Phil Mickelson by four strokes. His second professional win and first golf major victory came at the 2011 U.S. Open. McIlroy won with 16-under 268, leaving Jason Day behind with an eight-stroke margin.

In March 2012, McIlroy secured the first rank in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR). That year, he won four PGA Tour events, including his second golf major. McIlroy won The Honda Classic, The Deutsche Bank Championship, The BMW Championship, and the prestigious PGA Championship. At the Kiawah Island Golf Resort, McIlroy won the major with an eight-stroke victory over David Lynn.

In the following year, McIlroy signed a deal with Nike, and reportedly, it was a $250 million contract. Later on, in 2017, the deal was extended by Nike to a 10-year-long partnership. The PGA Tour pro signed the deal for $100 million that year.

Rory McIlroy's net worth explored

McIlroy has scored 43 victories in his professional career till now. Among these, he has 28 wins in the PGA Tour and four Major victories. The two-time PGA Championship winner spent more than 100 weeks in the number one spot of the Official World Golf Rankings.

McIlroy is by far the only golfer after Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus to win four golf majors before turning 25. The Northern Irishman currently sits at the second spot in the PGA Tour earnings leaderboard, with an all-time total of $99,709,062.

His first major deal was with Nike back in January 2013. As time went past, he signed deals with Omega, Optum, TaylorMade Golf, FM Insurance, GolfPass, Workday, and NBC Sports, among others. As reported by Celebrity Net Worth, McIlroy is worth $200 million.

McIlroy has played in four PGA Tour events this year. He started his 2025 season with an amazing win at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. His second win came at The Players Championship this year, where he won a playoff against J.J. Spaun.