( CNN ) -- On a hot April afternoon , young Rory McIlroy had the lead and only nine holes to play before he could become the Masters golf champion . Just 24 hours later , the Northern Irishman would tweet a picture of himself and Charl Schwartzel on a jet , both smiling , and one of them wearing the famed green jacket awarded to the winner of the most revered golf title in the world . It was n't McIlroy . For on that April Sunday , he had fallen apart , blown his lead big-time , shooting a horrendous 8-over-par 80 . Schwartzel leaped over him and other contenders to win one of the most exciting Masters ever with birdies on the final four holes . McIlroy 's tumble started on the 10th hole , when he hit a tee shot like a public course duffer into the woods and ended up losing three strokes to par . But after his very visible loss , the then-21-year-old did n't hide from defeat or from the press . `` I did n't handle [ the adversity on the course ] particularly well , obviously , but it was a character-building day , put it that way , '' he said that night . `` I 'll come out stronger for it . '' Some of the media , impressed by his grace , trotted out the well-worn cliche : He has the talent , but time will tell if he has the stuff champions are made of . It did n't take long for McIlroy to prove he does . Two months later , in the next major golf tournament , he thoroughly dominated the U.S. Open field all four days , winning by an unheard-of eight shots . `` He 's certainly captured everyone 's imagination , '' said Gary Van Sickle , a senior writer for Sports Illustrated and Golf.com . But Van Sickle warned it might be a little early to call McIlroy the next Tiger Woods , who won the Masters at age 21 after winning three U.S. amateur championships . `` I would hold off on handing him the crown just yet , '' he said of the No . 3-ranked player in the world . `` But he 's got a great swing , and he is impressive . '' Comparisons are inevitable . Both started as very , very young players . Both appeared on a TV show as a prodigy -- Woods on Mike Douglas at age 3 ; McIlroy appearing on a Northern Ireland show at age 9 . Both were beating older golfers while in their teens and winning many junior tournaments . McIlroy told CNN 's Piers Morgan that he sees only a few connections between himself and Woods . `` You know , at 22 , we both had one major . He won a couple more times than I have in my career , '' McIlroy said . `` But I mean I have to let other people make comparisons , because if I go -- am trying , you know , to chase his records -- I 'll lose sight of what I need to do to actually -- to win tournaments . '' And while trying to remain somewhat modest , he agreed with the assessment that he 'll be mentioned in future discussions as the greatest ever . `` Yeah , I do . I do . But I do n't really know if people want to hear that . I mean , I believe that myself . Yes , '' he told Morgan . `` I 'm very confident in my own abilities . I believe in myself . ... `` I said something a couple of days ago . I said , I 'm not playing for money , I 'm playing for a place in history . '' Both Woods and Jack Nicklaus have predicted a very high place in history for McIlroy . After the Open win , Nicklaus , who 's counseled McIlroy for several years , said , `` He 's humble when he ought to be and confident when he needs to be . '' The mop-haired , freckled kid is very likeable , too , Van Sickle said , and not just because of his adorable looks . He 's good people , too . It 's is n't something put on for the fans now that he is rich and famous , the writer said . And it 's not a recent development . Van Sickle recalled asking the young man for an interview as he readied for the 2007 British Open , one of his first times in the media spotlight . Despite being pursued by the press , the then-18-year-old was like sure thing , whatever you need , no question is off limits . And he 's still that same normal guy today , Van Sickle said . The kind of fella who gets on a plane just after choking away the lead at the Masters and tells his buddy , the guy who won , to put on the green jacket because he wants to take a picture . That he tweets with the message : Flying to Malaysia with charl ! Glad one of us has a green jacket on ! ! ! Or the kind of lad who goes to Haiti the week before the U.S. Open , finding a little life perspective to help his golf game . McIlroy 's success is no fluke , said Shane O'Donoghue , host of CNN 's `` Living Golf . '' His talent was obvious from the day McIlroy first picked up a club . Which was when he was 2 . And he hit the ball 40 yards . It was his desire to be a great golfer that prompted his devoted parents , Gerry and Rosie , to get behind their prodigious child . They worked night shifts and two and three extra jobs to fund his ambitions . His dad often bartended at the Holywood Golf Club in County Down , where Rory would practice . To this day , McIlroy never takes this support for granted , O'Donoghue said . McIlroy has always been keen to point out that he was never pushed by his parents , that it was indeed him doing all the pushing , all the dreaming and , crucially , all the practice . His father is a good golfer , too , and with uncles who are also low handicappers , there has always been a competitive arena among the McIlroy clan since the earliest days at Holywood . That 's where Rory 's sporting passion was fostered . These days , McIlroy still often has family and friends nearby when he competes . They wo n't have too far to travel when the British Open , the third major of the year , tees off Thursday in Kent , England , with McIlroy likely to be the betting and fan favorite . `` He 's going to have the crowd behind him like they were for Tiger when he was winning everything , '' Van Sickle said . `` It 'll be a 'home game ' for him . He 's used to playing in that kind of weather , and he 's going to have a big comfort zone . He 'll be the favorite in the British Open for the next 10 years . '' The Royal St. George 's course is `` quirky , '' Van Sickle said . It 's where a brisk wind can take a shot that starts in the center of the fairway and push it into rough terrain or worse -- deep bunkers . If McIlroy wins again , no doubt his popularity among fans in Europe and the United States will take off exponentially . The question then becomes : Will he continue to play mostly on his home continent , or will he come to America , where the tournament paydays are much larger ? While it would disappoint PGA Tour officials , McIlroy will probably continue to play overseas , Van Sickle guessed . He can still play in eight to 10 tournaments in the U.S. ( three majors and another handful of top-level tournaments ) and still be a player whom advertisers will seek out . He already reportedly makes millions each year in endorsements and appearance fees . But the injured Woods missed the U.S. Open and will also sit out the British . He also missed a good portion of 2010 because of his infidelity scandal . Golf 's popularity has suffered with the absence of the player who was a strong favorite to win every tournament he played . As Charley Hoffman told Alan Shipnuck of Sports Illustrated : `` But for casual fans , I think they need a dominant player to focus on . They need to know what the story line is . '' If you were a wagering person , Van Sickle said , the smart money would be on a 22-year-old kid from Northern Ireland with a poodle-like fro and a big smile . And a man who learned a very big lesson on a miserable day in April .
Rory McIlroy , 18 , hails from Northern Ireland , where he rose through the junior golf ranks . McIlroy came back from disappointment at the Masters to win the next major championship . Some predict success for him , and he tells Piers that he will be the best ever . Rory 's family made sacrifices , with dad bartending among his several jobs .