‘What the hell are you doing here’ – Rory McIlroy amazed at who he bumped into in Borussia Dortmund’s Yellow Wall
RORY McILROY ticked off a “bucket list” experience by joining Borussia Dortmund’s famous Yellow Wall – before hitting a bit of a brick wall at the Desert Classic.
McIlroy, who opened his bid for a hat-trick of titles by grinding out a two under par 70 said he had always wanted to taste the atmosphere of a Dortmund home game.
So he decided to stop off on his way to Dubai when he saw German team Dortmund were playing Bayer Leverkusen last week.
He said: “It was great fun, something I’ve always wanted to do. I’ve heard so much about the yellow wall and it was cool to experience it.
“The atmosphere was everything I expected – 25,000 fans and me and a couple of mates were right in the middle of it.
“It was insane, apart from Leverkusen going 2-0 up after five minutes, and holding on for a 3-2 win. But it was amazing to be there.
“Only three people recognised me – and they were from my mum’s home town, Lurgan! I said what the hell are you doing here, and they said they could ask me the same thing.”
McIlroy struggled early as he slipped to one over par through eight holes in his first competitive round in nine weeks.
But the world No 3, who started on the tenth hole at the Emirates, grabbed three birdies to breathe new life into his hopes of becoming the first European golfer in 25 years to win the same event three times in a row.
He is five shots behind an unlikely trio of pace-setters Ricardo Gouveia, David Micheluzzi, and amateur David Ford.
McIlroy added: “It was a bit scrappy to say the least but I’m happy with how I managed my game and I got it round in a couple under.
“I did a good job of scrambling. I made a lot of key up-and-downs. Bonus of a chip-in on 7. But I don’t want to have to rely on my short game the rest of the week like I did today.”
His birdie run included a chip-in on the par three seventh. It clearly lifted McIlroy’s mood, as he was surprisingly generous towards arch-enemy Greg Norman when he was asked about his departure as LIV’s chief executive.
McIlroy has previously said Norman had to be binned if there was to be any hope of LIV and the golfing establishment coming together.
But he commented: “I saw Scott O’Neill was confirmed as the new chief executive, and he’s someone I kind of know. He was at our showdown match in Las Vegas, when me and Scottie Scheffler took on Koepka and DeChambeau, and so was Greg.
“Look, Scott has got an amazing track record in terms of what he’s done in sport, in terms of being chief executive of both the NBA and the NHL.
“Yeah, he’s got the right credentials to take over another sports league. So yeah, I think for LIV it’s probably a good move now that they’re established.
“Greg obviously took a lot of flak in the first couple of years of LIV. He’s probably one of the only people in golf that could have taken on that role.
“So he got it off the ground and you’ve got to commend him for that. Now it’s time for someone with a bit more experience in this to take over.
“I honestly don’t know what the future holds for them, but the moves that they’re making, especially from an executive standpoint, it doesn’t look like they’re going to go away any time soon.”
Rory McIlroy's career achievements
By Ian Tuckey
Rory McIlroy spent more than 100 weeks at World No1 – and has scooped four Majors and won 40 tournaments in all SO FAR.
Only all-time greats Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods have matched his feat of winning one of the big four by the age of 25.
And after winning the 2011 US Open, the Northern Ireland ace added the PGA Championship the following year – adding the Open and PGA crowns in 2014.
Here’s a rundown on the glittering career of the 35-year-old, five-time Ryder Cup winner, who was also a strong critic of the rival Saudi-backed LIV tour:
- 2007 – topped the world amateur rankings aged 17.
Turned professional in September.
Became the youngest Affiliate Member in the history of The European Tour to earn a tour card.
- 2009 – reached the world top 50.
- 2010 – won his first PGA Tour title via the Quail Hollow Championship.
Made a winning Ryder Cup debut.
Became the youngest player to reach $10m earnings on the PGA Tour.
- 2011 – Famously blew a four-stroke lead on the final day of the Masters in May.
But won his first major the following month – the US Open.
Named Sports Person of the year by RTE – Ireland’s main broadcaster.
- 2012 – lifted the PGA Championship.
Named PGA Tour player of the year and picked up more Ryder Cup glory.
- 2013 – signed a huge sponsorship deal with Nike.
- 2014 – his best year to date, majors wise.
Won the Open at Royal Liverpool.
Then clinched back-to-back PGA crowns, beating Phil Mickelson by one stroke.
Named RTE Sports Person of the year for a second time.
Again helped Europe win the Ryder Cup.
- 2016 – Ended the season winning the Tour championship, putting him top of the FedEx Cup and landing him the $10m bonus pool.
Suffered Ryder Cup defeat.
- 2017 – failed to win all year.
But gained top 10 finishes at the Masters, The Open and 3 WGC events.
And with Nike largely withdrawing from the golf market, he landed an £80m endorsement deal with TaylorMade.
- 2018 – More Ryder Cup joy.
- 2020 Overtook Brooks Koepka to become World No1
- 2021 – A Ryder Cup loser.
- 2022 – runners-up at the Masters and finished third at the Open.
- 2023 – helped Europe thrash the USA 16.5-11.5 in the Ryder Cup.
- 2024 – struggled early in the season, finishing just joint-22nd in the Masters.
But then won two tournaments – the Zurich Classic for his 25th PGA title and the Wells Fargo Championship.