After Rory McIlroy’s collapse at the Masters 2 months ago some people doubted whether such a young man would be able to rebound….ever! How he proved them wrong, with a record breaking performance in last weekend’s US Open those that doubted his ability to come back are now calling him the ‘next Tiger Woods’ ….. in a good way – you understand!
At just 22 years of age McIlroy won the US Open by 8 strokes evoking memories of a 21 year old Tiger winning the same tournament by 12 strokes in 1997. Following that victory Tiger was swamped with endorsement deals from Pepsi, Nike and Gatorade. It was that victory which launched Tiger into the ultra-stardom that made him one of the most marketable athletes in history and made him worth an estimated $1Billion at his peak.
Last Sunday as McIlroy kissed the trophy at the Congressional Country Club he was wearing the ’Jumeirah’ logo spread across his cap and I think it is safe to say that the luxary hotel’s time on top of Rory’s grounded head may be numbered. With a beautiful swing and an attitude that makes you want to go for a ‘pint of Guiness’ with him there is every opportunity that he will have his pick of AT+T, Gatorade and many other global brands. Depending on how McIlroy deals with the inevitable media storm that is heading his way over the next fortnight we can expect Rory to turn up at the next tournament representing some new brands and with a much heakthier bank account.
Best of luck Rory.
Adrian G Stewart
