It's been a career of immense success already at just 27, and Rory McIlroy shared plenty of anecdotes and insights from his major-winning career.
The World No 3 was speaking at An Evening With Rory at Dublin's Convention Centre on Newstalk in association with the Rory Foundation, and one moment he looked back on with host James Nesbitt was his final round collapse at the 2011 Masters Tournament.
"Honestly, it is the only time that my mind has gone blank on a golf course. I was thinking clearly You just get so frazzled," he recalled.
"I realised that what had happened at Amen Corner was something big and something people were going to talk about it and I was going to be asked about it, so I basically spent the last holes thinking about what I was going to say. So I think that's why my interview afterwards was quite good actually because I had about an hour and a half to prepare!"
In contrast, winning his first major at the 2011 US Open was a "dream".
The boss is in great form tonight! pic.twitter.com/UqBamr9zNo
— Rory Foundation (@roryfoundation) May 17, 2016
"The thing for me at Congressional was to keep my eye-line above the spectators the whole time. That was one of my key thoughts of the week," he said, citing that as advice emanating from former England cricket captain Michael Vaughn.
Plus, he reacted to footage of the 5-a-side football injury which ruled him out of last year's Open Championship at St Andrew's.
We have a full house here at @TheCCD for #AnEveningWithRory brought to you by @NewstalkFM pic.twitter.com/HtKFkdfJrp
— Rory Foundation (@roryfoundation) May 17, 2016
McIlroy also spoke about his charity work with The Rory Foundation and how both his parents have influenced him, before discussing his early struggles after turning pro in 2007.
"It took a good six to nine months to believe I belonged on tour," he recalled of the those early days, before he played with Ernie Els at the 2008 Singapore Open.
"I remember it was the first top, top player I played with. After I played with Ernie [Els] - I think I actually beat him that day - I sort of thought to myself, he's not better than me and that's when I started to believe."
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