Rory McIlroy names the one player he was most surprised to see fail on the PGA Tour after matching Tiger Woods record as a junior.
Rory McIlroy did not hesitate when asked to name the one player he was most surprised to see flop on the PGA Tour during a recent interview with Kyle Porter of Normal Sport.
McIlroy, 35, revealed there was an American player he came across in his junior days that was simply unbeatable.
So unbeatable he even matched Tiger Woods’ record of winning four straight Junior World Golf Championships (1992-2002).
The name?
Philip Francis.
“He was from Scottsdale, Arizona,” McIlroy told Normal Sport.
“I finished second and third to him all of my teenage years.
“Like, you just could not beat this guy.
“He went to UCLA (University of California Los Angeles). He won the U.S. Junior, I think. He won the U.S. Junior Am and I thought this kid was unbeatable.”
Sadly for Francis, now 34, things did not work out as planned when he finally made it to the PGA Tour in 2007.
Despite huge expectations from the likes of McIlroy, the talented American missed the cut in all three of his starts during his rookie season at the St Jude Championship, John Deere Classic and U.S. Bank Championship.
Injury issues, reportedly caused by swing changes, hampered him on the PGA Tour.
He went on to make his first PGA Tour cut at the 2008 John Deere Classic, but it would sadly be the only weekend he ever made in just six tournaments on the circuit.
In 2015, Francis completely gave up the competitive game after failing to make it through Q-School.
“I started losing some passion for the game in college,” Francis told A Life in Golf.
“I started to become very technical with my golf swing and that led me down a dark path of not enjoying the same game I grew up loving.”
He added: “My old coach taught me there is a lot more to life than chasing a white ball being hit around a golf course.
“I think because of that I was able to transition into something completely foreign very efficiently and easily.”
Francis has now gone on to enjoy a successful career in finance.
He does miss the sport though, and hasn’t completely ruled out a return.
“I would love to potentially play some higher level of amateur golf again,” said Francis.
“I miss the competitive nature of being in the heat of the moment.”
McIlroy then went on to name Jamie Lovemark and Oliver Fisher as two other players he considers to have not quite had the careers he initially anticipated.
Although Fisher won the 2011 Czech Open and became the first ever player to shoot 59 on the DP World Tour (2018 Portugal Masters, second round), McIlroy admitted many people thought the Englishman would have gone on to have a better career than himself.
“If you would have asked anyone 20 years ago… everyone would have said Ollie Fisher was probably going to go on to have a better career than I’ve had. It’s hard,” McIlroy told Normal Sport.
Lovemark never won on the PGA Tour but did pick up two titles on the Korn Ferry Tour.
“You just look at him, you’re like, this guy is like 6’4 and absolutely ripped and swings the club perfectly,” McIlroy said of Lovemark.
“I don’t know. There’s so many intangibles in golf that some guys looked like world leaders at an early age.”
McIlroy then reflected on getting things completely wrong where Jordan Spieth was concerned.
The Northern Irishman revealed he was not impressed with Spieth at all when he first played alongside him at the 2013 Texas Open.
But that he soon realised what all the hype was about as Spieth went on to notch three major victories from 2015 to 2017.
“I remember the first time, I think I told you this, the first time I played with Jordan Spieth, 2013 San Antonio,” McIlroy told Porter.
“I played the first two days with him, and he missed the cut, and I’m like, ‘What is the big deal with this kid? Very average.’
“And he comes on and nearly wins the Grand Slam two years later.”
Spieth still just needs to win the US PGA to complete the career grand slam.
McIlroy just needs The Masters.
Only five golfers in the modern era have won the grand slam: Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Woods.
Woods and Nicklaus are the only players to have won each of the four majors at least three times.
