1. Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland, Age 22)
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The 22-year-old Rory McIlroy has the golfing world at his feet.
Long touted as a future world No. 1, McIlroy has done nothing to suggest otherwise. He has steadily climbed up the world rankings to No. 3 and is putting in consistent performances on the course.
The Northern Irishman has registered three professional wins since turning professional in 2007—most famously winning this year’s U.S. Open.
The victory came not long after his nightmare fourth round at Augusta where he blew a chance to win the Masters after leading by four strokes after three rounds.
This showed the character of the young man to bounce back so quickly from his mistakes and learn from them.
The U.S. Open was his third title after winning the European Tour’s Dubai Desert Classic in 2009 and the PGA Tour’s Quail Hollow Championship in 2010.
But most impressive is his list of high finishes in major events.
Before winning the U.S. Open this year, McIlroy managed to tie for 10th in 2009, he tied for third in last year’s Open Championship at St Andrews and had two consecutive tied-for-third finishes in the PGA Championship in 2009 and 2010.