There are many things that a person just cannot be sure of, and one of them has to be knowing what the future holds. However, in Rory McIlroy’s case, the golfer knew what time had in store for him. We all know how McIlroy has been struggling, especially in the majors. Take the US Open for example. He has been in a major drought for a decade now. He came close this year at Pinehurst but sadly bogeyed the last hole by missing a 3-foot putt, which resulted in him missing the cup. The Northern Irishman’s emotion must have been riding high as he left the course without congratulating the winner, Bryson DeChambeau. There was no forgiveness for the golfer after this as fans accused him of being arrogant. But has the golfer always been arrogant and co***?

In a recent interview with Dan Hendrickson Golf, Rory McIlroy’s friend Zach Gould revealed some pretty interesting things about McIlroy’s nature, and he also shed light on the things that young McIlroy had planned for his future self.

Did Rory McIlroy achieve the goal he set for himself?

While talking about McIlroy’s attitude on the field, the interviewer used two terms, co*** and arrogant, to which Gould gently replied by suggesting, “Yes, it could come across arrogant and co***, but it was cold and it was straight.” He remembered asking McIlroy about his prospects while playing with him on Europe’s 2004 Junior Ryder Cup team.

According to Gould, McIlroy’s response has stuck with him to this day. “I remember asking Rory clear, to this day, I said, How good you generally think you’re going to be? And he just said to me, a straight face, he just said, in the next five years, I think I’m going to be world number one,” said Gould. Talk about having faith in oneself!

“He said, No. If not world number one, well, on my way to being world number one. But he said it to me as if he knew that was going to happen and it won long after five years later, five, six years that he played in the Ryder Cup”, continued Gould. While McIlroy might not be the world’s no. 1 now, he surely has been in the past. On February 27, 2012, the golfer reached the spot of world no. 1 golfer and stayed there for 2 weeks. He then continued to be world number 1 for eight more times, with the last being in 2022. His total duration as the world’s top golfer is 107 weeks.

McIlroy is currently holding the 3rd position on the OWGR rankings. He has four major titles to his name, and 26 PGA Tour wins, 2 of which he earned this year consecutively. This year was not particularly easy for him on the personal front as well for a brief duration, he and his wife had decided to end their marriage, but they later reconciled. An impressed Gould also mentioned, “He knew where he was going, and that’s something that really sticks with me. And we were close friends at that point.”

Gould and Rory McIlroy were close friends who loved playing golf together in their amateur years. They even competed against each other at the European Young Masters, where Gould came out on top by beating McIlroy by 5 strokes. But as time went on their lives took different turns. McIlroy became the superstar golfer, that he is today, and for Gould, he became an entrepreneur.

How did Gould’s life change later on?

Gould struggled with his game. His scoring average rose from 72 to 76 and he fell from 12th to 234th in the world junior rankings. “Rory turned pro. At 18, I was watching this happen asking myself ‘where have I gone wrong?’”, said Gould previously. By the time he was 20, he was feeling burnt out but then he found his calling. He went out to make a fitness business of his skills and today is the owner of the popular Zach Gould Golf.

Gould was so passionate about golf that he got a PhD in Golf Strength & Conditioning. Now, he helps golfers get fitter and play better. So far, he’s worked with over 10,000 golfers online, making a big difference in their games.