Fans think they’ve identified the ‘horrific’ watch which Rory McIlroy spent his first bumper paycheque on – but now regrets buying.
The Irish golfing legend has scooped millions during an illustrious career which has seen him become a five-time major winner and a household name in the world of sport.
McIlroy shot onto the scene some 18 years ago, earning himself a spot on the PGA Tour at the age of just 18 in 2007.
He soon came into some huge winnings thanks to his exploits on courses across the DP World Tour, winning $20,520 for a T-42 finish at the British Masters, $286,769 at the Alred Dunhill Cup and another $56,425 at the Madrid Open.
But only now has McIlroy revealed that he spent his first earnings on what he described as ‘the worst purchase ever’ – a diamond encrusted watch.
Speaking ahead of this weekend’s BMW Championship, he told reporters: ‘I only had a debit card at the time and I checked my balance.
‘I was like “Holy”, I went straight to the jeweller.’
When asked if he remembers what he spent the money on, McIlroy chuckled: ‘Yes, a watch with diamonds around it. It was horrific.
‘I can’t believe it, it was like the worst purchase ever. It was so bad!
‘It’s not the make and model that I’m sponsored by now, so I’m not going to say it!’
But after hearing McIlory’s admission, curious fans began investigating what exactly the ‘horrific’ watch was.
Instagram user @golfprojects was the first to identify the glitzy wristwear, claiming the golfer splashed out his earnings on a 2007 Breitling Chronomat Evolution featuring a diamond bezel and a MOP dial.
Indeed, pictures of McIlroy from the 2009 Dubai Desert Classic show him sporting what supporters believe is the watch, and it’s just as eye-catching as he described.
Elsewhere in the press conference, McIlroy made headlines as he shot down the idea of captaining Team Europe in the upcoming Ryder Cup.
As one of Europe’s most decorated players, he had often been tipped as a natural leader in waiting. Since making his debut in 2010, McIlroy has been part of five victorious European teams.
He however revealed that he has turned down an offer to captain the team at Bethpage Black in September.
‘No, I’ve been asked to do that, and I’ve turned it down,’ he said.
‘The idea of me being a playing captain sometime soon came up, and I shot it down straight away.’ When asked why, McIlroy replied: ‘Because I don’t think you can do it.’
The Northern Irishman explained that the modern Ryder Cup captain’s role has expanded far beyond what fans see during the three days of competition.
‘It’s just the commitments that a captain has that week,’ he added. ‘You think about the extra media a captain has to do, you think about the extra meetings the captains have to do with the vice-captains, with the PGA of America, preparing your speech for the opening ceremony… there’s a lot of things that people don’t see that the captain does, especially now that the Ryder Cup has become so big.
‘If you’d have said it 20 years ago, I’d say, yeah, it was probably possible,’ he continued. ‘But now with how big of a spectacle it is and everything that’s on the line, I think it would be a very difficult position to be in.’
The 2014 Open champion also stressed the practical limitations such a role would impose on his playing schedule across the weekend.
‘Then [on the playing side] the captain isn’t going to be on the course all day, so really the captain’s only going to be able to play one session on Friday and one session on Saturday,’ he said.
‘Would you rather not have a player that has the flexibility to go twice [in a day] if he’s playing well?’
