A message from the editor, Neil Tappin:
The first time I ever laid eyes on our cover star Rory McIlroy was outside the clubhouse at the Emirates Golf Club in Dubai, just before the 2006 Desert Classic. Stood on his own, waiting for a car, it would have been easy to miss the 16-year-old amateur. In fact, I would have missed him if it wasn’t for Paul Severn, the photographer I was standing with. “That’s the young guy from Northern Ireland. Apparently he’s going to be extremely good,” said Paul.
