Rory McIlroy to donate Irish Open prize money to charity if he wins
In just a year, world No. 1 has transformed the Irish Open from a middling European Tour event into a draw from the world’s best players.
Of course, pegging it at Royal County Down, a top-10 course in the world, helps attract a solid field. So, too, has McIlroy’s active recruitment, which may also net a Tiger Woods appearance in 2016.
The Ulsterman has put in the effort, in part, because the proceeds from the event will benefit his fairly new The Rory Foundation, which aims to support children and various worldwide children’s charities. To that end, McIlroy said Wednesday that, McIlroy will donate his check back to his foundation. If he wins, that would amount to $638,000.
“Honestly, what I want to get out of it this year is just to raise a lot of money for the foundation for the cancer fund, and ultimately if I play well, and if I do well in the tournament, then all the money that I earn is going to go towards that as well,” he said.
“So I’m not really playing for myself this week. I’m playing for a lot of other people and it gives me an incentive to go out there and enjoy it and try to play well.”
McIlroy’s move is akin to what Woods has done with his Quicken Loans National, which benefits the Tiger Woods Foundation. It’s a natural decision for these players.
However, McIlroy is taking it a step further this week. In addition to donating his earnings to his foundation, McIlroy will wear four pairs of Nike golf shoes designed by children whose lives have been impacted by cancer.
Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.over at Nike News, complete with a breakdown of each from McIlroy himself.” alt=”Check out more information on the special shoes over at Nike News, complete with a breakdown of each from McIlroy himself.” class=”editorial ” src=”http://l.yimg.com/os/publish-images/sports/2015-05-27/daeae840-049e-11e5-9b35-09bd70ebc766_mcilroy_600_shoes.jpg” align=”left” width=”500″>
