On the first tee of yesterday's pro-am on the eve of the British Masters, just after Lee Westwood had struck an iron down the first fairway, one of his amateur partners moved to push a tee into the ground on the same back markers. "No, you play from up ahead," said the starter to the teenager, pointing to the amateur yellow tees some 20 yards in front of the championship stakes.
Nonplussed, Rory McIlroy - no ordinary amateur - simply shook his head and replied, "No, I've to play from here." With that, the 16-year-old prodigy from outside Belfast who is playing in this PGA European Tour event on a special invitation (he'll also play in next week's Nissan Irish Open at Carton House) hit a three-wood shot down the left-hand side of the fairway.
For someone so young, McIlroy has a maturity beyond his years and seems to take everything in his stride.
Even the task of signing autographs has proven to be no hindrance. On Tuesday evening his father Gerry was somewhat amused to walk out of the Marriott hotel on site to see the younger McIlory surrounded by autograph hunters. The word of his prodigious talent, it seems, has spread and yesterday a sizeable gallery followed his moves.
Westwood had an up-close view, and was impressed. "Technically he looks very good. His putting looks very good. His short game looks very good," observed the world number 32 as he walked from the ninth green to the 10th tee mid-round. "He's 16 years old and he's still quite, what's the word, scrawny. There's still room to grow . . . at 16 you know nothing, do you? You're only going to learn more. He's basically learning how to get around golf courses, where he can miss it. This will be great for him as long as he doesn't take it too seriously, not to set his goals too high, but still to set the goal of making the cut."
Had Rory been picking his brains during the round? "We've been chatting but I wouldn't know when my brain is being picked and when it's not," quipped Westwood.
McIlroy, now playing off a plus-four handicap, has taken the Irish amateur game by storm winning the Irish Youths' and Irish Boys' titles last year and progressing to win the West of Ireland championship in March as he seeks to become the youngest ever member of the Britain and Ireland team for the defence of the Walker Cup against the United States in Chicago in August.
For this week he has Paul Stevens, an old tour caddie, on his bag and has been given a "friendly" three-ball with Damien McGrane and Richard Finch. "I'm looking forward to the experience, to just being out here," said McIlroy. "I'd love to make the cut, that's probably my main goal for the week."
One man familiar with McIlroy's potential is Darren Clarke who first noticed him at one of his Darren Clarke Foundation clinics.
"Rory's an unbelievable talent. I think the experience he is going to pick up this week and next week will help. He is one of the brightest Irish prospects for a long time.
"If I had to turn pro at that age to compete (for a living), I don't think I would have been ready for it. But it was not plus-four when I was 16, it took me a bit longer. He's very much got his head switched on."
