Rory McIlroy was born in Northern Ireland in 1989 and began playing golf at the age of 2. He grew up in a sports-loving family and was encouraged to pursue golf from an early age. McIlroy's father worked as a bartender at a local golf club and Rory spent much of his childhood there, developing his golf skills and learning about the sport. By the age of 16, McIlroy had become one of the top-ranked junior golfers in the world.