The footage is grainy but you can see what’s happening. An eight-year-old Rory McIlroy is chipping golf balls into a washing machine on UTV’s The Kelly Show.
"The Americans have Tiger Woods. We have young Rory and, believe you me, this boy can hit the ball," presenter Gerry Kelly says.
Fast forward 17 years and McIlroy is again in a room with a washing machine. However, this time there are 2,000 other people in the room. The 'room' is Dublin's Convention Centre and the world's number three ranked golfer is alongside Alex Ferguson and James Nesbitt for a chat.
Everyone present has paid €60 to be there with all proceeds going to the Rory Foundation.
High rollers such as Niall Horan and Rob Kearney are in the front row.
And the washing machine? That’s down in the far corner with young children (and some adults) chipping plastic golf balls into it for prizes, each one of them dreaming that, maybe one day, they could be the next Rory McIlroy.
The boy from Holywood has come a long way.
It’s quite often the case with these “An evening with...” events that much of what the sportsperson has to say has already been heard, whether in interviews, books or similar. Sir Alex Ferguson has been around the block for so long that there’s not much more he can say or many more anecdotes he can tell that haven’t already been heard. So, just two evenings before the Irish Open begins at The K Club, this was all about McIlroy. Having said that, the most successful manager in British football history isn’t exactly a bad panel member to have on the side.
McIlroy is unlike many sportspeople. Generally his interviews and press conferences are open, honest and engaging. Tuesday evening in Dublin was no different.
It was telling that, when posed with the question of whether or not he still enjoys golf, the 27-year-old’s answer was quite thoughtful.
“I enjoy the competitive aspect of it. When you’re nine years old it’s just pure joy to get up there and strike a golf ball as well as you can and to see it flying in the air, I mean that’s what gave me real pleasure.
“I think that has somewhet changed over the years as I have played in tournaments and turned pro, with all these expectations and pressure.
“Now it’s about trying to be the best. I enjoy trying to be the best at golf. I still love the game, but I probably don’t play as many casual rounds with my friends.”
This thought becomes telling when the audience is shown never-before-seen footage of the four-time major winner injuring his ankle while playing five-a-side football.
Captured on a mobile phone camera, the two women filming don’t seem to realise what’s going on while the then world number one golfer rolls on the ground in agony. Then the reality hits home as one of them says “No, I think it’s bad. Like, proper injury bad.”
It was proper injury bad. In fact it caused McIlroy to miss the US Open as well as his defence of the British Open at St Andrews – a place where he said he had earmarked since 2005 as somewhere he could win the Claret Jug.
It’s an odd feeling to watch such a famous and talented superstar go over on his ankle on a dull astro turf pitch while his mates stand around awkwardly and watch him writhe in pain. But that’s also what makes McIlroy so ordinary. Yes, he’s an immensly talented golfer but he’s also a 27-year-old.
He enjoys a social life, as he says later in the evening, and puts huge importance on doing so.
That's not something you hear from Jordan Spieth – who hits 1,000 chips and 1,000 putts a day – or Jason Day who seems to spend every waking minute on the driving range.
But that’s not saying the work ethic isn’t there. It is. In abundance.
That is where Ferguson came into his own. The former Manchester United manager spoke of the preparation aspect which is so key to any sport. Unsurprisingly he didn't mention the "fail to prepare, prepare to fail" mantra of a certain former captain of his but he did emphasis the difference work ethic makes at the top level.
As McIlroy said: “Every professional is talented, but it’s those that work the hardest who get to the very top.”
It’s worth remembering the moment before the final round of this year’s Masters where Ferguson, who was at all four days of the tournament, stopped McIlroy to give him one simple piece of advice.
“Con-cen-trate, con-cen-trate, con-cen-trate”, the 74-year-old told the 27-year-old.
The mental aspect inherent in golf means that concentration is absolutely crucial and it's interesting that the four-time major winner mentions the 2011 US Masters as the only time when it completely failed him. Tuesday evening is the first time he has watched the coverage of the meltdown around holes 10, 11 and 12 which cost him a green jacket and it's obvious it still has an effect on him.
“That was the only time my mind went completely blank on a golf course. I spent the last five holes thinking about what to say afterwards. That’s probably why my post-round interview was half decent.”
Two months later he blitzed the field to win the US Open by eight shots. It turns out that a simple piece of advice from former England cricket captain Michael Vaughan played a huge part in that victory.
“I’d noticed my body language at the Masters was very slumped, I was staring at the ground a lot. So at the US Open what I did was keep my eye level above that of the gallery for the whole week, that was an objective for the week.”
McIlroy was 22 at the time – a man beyond his years. However, someone else beyond his years was also present at the Convention Centre.
That was 13-year-old Tom McKibbin. The newest golfing prodigy from Northern Ireland is also a member at McIlroy’s boyhood golf club, Holywood.
Concentration was certainly high on the young man’s agenda when he recently won the Junior Honda Classic and Under-12 World Championship in America.
On Wednesday he plays alongisde McIlroy at the Irish Open Pro-Am. The former prodigy is now setting the example for the newest one.
It’s a long way from chipping balls into a washing machine but the whirlwind career of Rory McIlroy is still very much on full cycle.
