It has been more than a decade since Rory McIlroy turned professional and over the years, the 35-year-old has shown himself to be one of the best golfers. Just recently, the Northern Irishman celebrated an emotional win as he emerged victorious at the Earth Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates as he won the 2024 DP World Tour Championship. This iteration was McIlroy’s third DP World season finale win.

And courtesy of that he won the Race to Dubai title for the sixth time, equaling the legendary golfer, Seve Ballesteros’s record. Since the 2012 DP World Tour Championship, when McIlroy won it for the first time to the 2024 edition, many aspects of his life changed for better or worse, and here’s the rundown of it all.

1. Rory McIlroy’s unstable but now stable love life

When Rory McIlroy celebrated his first DP World Tour Championship victory, the woman in his arms was the tennis star, Caroline Wozniacki. After dating for more than two years, the two got engaged in December 2013. But only four months later, McIlroy revealed that after mutual consent they had broken up. Wozniacki later shared that it was over a phone call and not really mutual, as McIlroy called the wedding off. A year later, he started a romantic relationship with his now wife, Erica Stoll as the two had been friends since 2012.

The duo got engaged in 2015 and tied the knot in 2017. Things were going well as the pair celebrated 7 years of marriage, but in May 2024, McIlroy filed for divorce as their marriage was ‘“irretrievably broken.” However, after a month, the two resolved their differences and got back together for a better future for their family. And McIlroy celebrated his 3rd DP World Tour Championship win with his wife as their relationship started anew.

2. McIlroy became a father

After his marriage to Erica Stoll in 2017, the couple announced in Augusta 2020 that they had welcomed a baby girl, and Rory McIlroy and Stoll became parents. The Northern Irishman named his child, Poppy Kennedy McIlroy and since then, she has been the center of his life.

One of the reasons why McIlroy had patched his relationship with Stoll was probably Poppy as he said, “I have realized that our best future was as a family together. Thankfully, we have resolved our differences.” He adores her as every father would and thanks his wife and daughter for sticking by him through the good and bad times until he wins the championship third. The mother and daughter held up six fingers to signify McIlroy’s sixth Race to Dubai victory as they celebrated it together.

3. The shift from winning two majors in a year to none

McIlroy won his second major, the 2012 US Open, and than two years later, in 2014, he was counted in the same bracket as Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus for winning four majors before turning 26. In 2014, McIlroy won the Open Championship and the PGA Championship for the second time. McIlroy needed only the green jacket from the Masters to complete the career grand slam.

But it has been more than a decade and McIlroy remains in anguish as he has been incapable of winning the Masters or for that matter, any other major event. A decade-long drought was finally coming to an end at the US Open on Pinehurst, but he missed a putt and Bryson DeChambeau became the 2024 US Open champion. Maybe another year and McIlroy will finally win a major.

4. The 4x major champ’s flip on LIV Golf

In 2022, LIV Golf happened and many PGA Tour pros joined the league. Rory McIlroy was annoyed and against the idea of LIV Golf and those who joined it. He stated that LIV was ‘“dead in the water,’ shamed those who went to the league just for money, and didn’t regard LIV Golf events as proper golf tournaments. He was still against the breakaway circuit when in June 2023, Jay Monahan shocked the golf world and shook hands with PIF’s chief, Yasir Al-Rumayyan for a merger.

He still hated LIV Golf, however, as the year ended, McIlroy’s hate against LIV Golf did too. He now advocates for a united front in the golf world with the top talent from both PGA Tour and LIV Golf, coming together more often for the game’s growth. It has been a 180° switch but McIlroy is finally content with PIF and LIV.

5. From PGA Tour’s loyalist to a ‘sacrificial lamb’

As we all know, Rory McIlroy spoke his heart as he supported the PGA Tour against LIV Golf and their decision to suspend the defector. He was all in just for the Tour to exist, but when Jay Monahan made the deal with PIF, which still hasn’t been finalized, McIlroy’s heart broke. He agreed that a merger was probably more beneficial for the game but said that he felt like he was a “sacrificial lamb” for the PGA Tour after he went all out.

He expressed that it was hypocritical of the PGA Tour and yet was part of the advisory board. However, in November 2023, he resigned from there too saying that he had a lot going on in his life. Since then, McIlroy isn’t the PGA Tour’s as he was once. He is part of the transactional committee but doesn’t really take part in the merger finalization. He is more a golfer than a controversial figure he had become when LIV was inaugurated.

The past 10 years have been nothing but dramatic for Rory McIlroy and surely, he has learned and grown from all the ups and downs he faced.