Northern Irish player voted Britain’s best-known sports personality says he dreamed “of being a great golfer” not “all this other stuff”.
Rory McIlroy has just been voted Britain’s best-known sports personality, but the Northern Irishman seemed far from pleased when told of it at the British PGA golf tournament at Wentworth .
“I dreamed of being a great golfer. I never dreamed of all this other stuff,” he said.
“I feel very privileged that I’m in the position that I’m in, but I just try to live my life the way I normally would. I never wanted to be famous. I wanted to be known for my golf and that was it.”
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The worst part for McIlroy is clear.
“Everyone knows what you do 24 hours of the day,” McIlroy said.
“You can’t really get away from it too much. That’s why I’ve tried to withdraw from social media and keep my life more private. As time has gone on, I’ve started to value that part of my life more.”
He beat out soccer players Gareth Bale and Wayne Rooney for the honor.
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The good news for McIlroy is that he is only in 15th place on the world list of the ESPN Fame 100. The first three there were Cristiano Ronaldo, LeBron James and Lionel Messi that order.
That index used three measurements: social media following, Google Trends and endorsement deals to measure the sportspeople’s notoriety.
Rory McIlroy's golf swing on a loop.
Yes, please. ?? pic.twitter.com/raMoxzRU7e
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 9, 2018
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