2022 has seen golf shrouded in controversy as the rise of Saudi-backed LIV Golf Invitational Series has divided the sport. Rory McIlroy has been front and centre of golf's civil war, backing the PGA and slamming the golf stars who have abandoned the tour for massive money.
Speaking to reporters before the start of the Canadian Open, McIlroy said the decisions "you make in your life purely for money doesn't usually end up going the right way." However, the golfer isn't exactly short of cash himself and has made some shrewd financial decisions securing himself huge wealth.
McIlroy left school at 16 and turned professional at 17, signing to ex-tour pro Andrew "Chubby" Chandler's International Sports Management, whose stable included Darren Clarke and Chubby Chandler.
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McIlroy would become disillusioned, though, with the advice being given him by ISM. In a 2012 interview he cited his decision in 2010 to give up his PGA Tour card, and skipping the Players Championship at Sawgrass in the same season, as among his biggest regrets.
"That's another example of being involved with Chubby and ISM and maybe being led down the wrong path, or a path that I didn't want to go down.
"It was something I sort of felt like I had to do. I think just spending a little bit of time around Chubby and Lee and hearing their view of the PGA Tour – obviously they're very pro-European Tour – while I've always been one who wanted to play on the PGA Tour."
McIlroy jumped ship to Dublin-based Horizon Sports Management. But this would also turn sour and end in an ugly legal case with Horizon boss Conor Ridge claiming that the golfer owed him millions in unpaid commission.
What McIlroy wanted was to set up his own company and be the prime negotiator in his own decisions, which has paid off handsomely.
McIlroy's quandary, if it can be called that, became what to do with all his money?
He told the New York Times in 2021: "I had gotten to a point where I had done financially well on the golf course. We were looking to do something different. It was, do I open another wealth management portfolio and do the same thing again? Or do I do something like this, as a great introduction to meet new people?"
In 2019 McIlroy set up Symphony Ventures , a venture capital firm interested in emerging companies, with headquarters in Dublin.
The same year he won, among other things, the FedEx Cup for a second time and a cheque for $15,000,000.
While the likes of Dustin Johnson, Cameron Smith and Bryson DeChambeau have taken nine-figure offers to join LIV Golf, McIlroy has been steadfast in his loyalty to the PGA Tour.
Since joining the tour in 2010, McIlroy has won over $66 million on the circuit, but the majority of his revenue has stemmed from sponsorship deals. He has signed $200m deals with Nike and $100m deals with TaylorMade among others.
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And it is not surprising that many of Symphony Venture's investments have been of a sporting theme.
One of the most profitable investments has been in the fitness tech company, Whoop . You might notice McIlroy wearing one of the devices on his wrist when competing in tournaments, with its innovative technology measuring strain, recovery, and sleep.
McIlroy invested in the company, along with fellow golfer Justin Thomas, during their Series E funding round in 2020 when Whoop was valued at $1.2 billion.
Just a year later, Whoop's Series F funding round saw the company's valuation grow to some $3.6 billion in August 2021.
Whoop was just one of McIlroy's investments that benefited somewhat from the new living patterns brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic.
McIlroy invested in Future, a one-on-one digital fitness training platform that pairs its clients with top coaches, during their Series C funding round. Among the other investors at this round was American actress Kate Hudson.
Another of McIlroy's investments, LetsGetCheked , a company which allows customers to order a medical test right to their door, whether for a Sexual Transmitted Disease, fertility issues, certain cancers and much more, also benefited financially from Covid-19 restrictions. In a recent funding round the company raised $71 million and is predicted to soar in value. McIlroy has also invested in the Germany-based company Kaia Health, which makes an application to aid in the treatment of muscular pain issues. Again, travel restrictions saw the company's revenue rise exponentially in recent years.
Closer to his expertise, in 2021, McIlroy has invested in Troon , the world's largest golf management company, with more than 640 courses on its books. A similar investment has been in Golf Genius Software , which offers software solutions to golf courses around the globe.
While McIlroy makes the final call on these investments, he has told of the benefits of surrounding himself with experts.
"We have a few trusted people who have been in the venture capital and private equity world a long time. I don’t sit down and do the due diligence. We have trusted people who say this is good. It’s treated like a real business."
Aside from his moral qualms with LIV golf and his allegiance to the PGA Tour, if he ever did entertain the idea of joining the breakaway league, McIlroy's advisors would likely have warned him of the potential negative implications for his corporate profile if associating himself with such a controversial venture.
Nor does all of McIlroy's activity off the course seem to be affecting his performance on the course.
The 33-year-old has been in the frontline of the PGA Tour's fight to remain the world's biggest tour throughout 2022, which has coincided with him playing some of the best golf of his career.
Top ten finishes in all four major championships have been supplemented with two victories on the PGA Tour. His career total is now 22 wins on the PGA Tour, which is two more than LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman - a fact that wasn't lost on McIlroy.
“Twenty-first PGA Tour win, one more than someone else – that gave me a little extra incentive today and happy to get it done," he said after claiming the Canadian Open this year.
Conservative estimates put McIlroy's net worth at around €250m, but his business savvy could see that figure double, if not treble, in the coming years.
The PGA Tour know they have one of the brightest minds, never mind the biggest golfing talent, in their corner.
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