A charity from Northern Ireland has praised golfing superstar Rory McIlroy as they addressed rumours that the Holywood sensation had handed over his entire Masters windfall to their organisation. McIlroy achieved a career grand slam on Sunday, edging out Justin Rose in an edge-of-your-seat playoff at Augusta National.
This victory not only netted the 35 year-old the famed Green Jacket but also a cool £3.1million in prize money.
That has led to speculation online that McIlroy has subsequetly bestowed his earnings upon Mencap, an organisation dedicated to helping thousands with learning disabilities lead the lives of their choice.
This isn’t the first time such speculation has arisen—chatter was rife following his £3.2m haul at the Players’ Championship last month. Yet, Mencap NI set the record straight on Wednesday with a statement declaring the reports as “not accurate”.
Mencap’s Executive Director Strategy, Jackie O’Sullivan, stated: “Rory McIlroy has been a tremendous supporter of Mencap, supporting the build of our children’s centre in Belfast a few years ago.
“However, we would like to clarify that reports stating he donated winnings from a recent tournament to Mencap are not accurate.
“While we remain immensely thankful for his ongoing support and commitment to our work, we’d like to take this opportunity to congratulate him on his smashing victories.”
McIlroy has been a long-time supporter of Mencap, and previously donated £500,000 to the charity. The significant sum was pledged by the Rory Foundation to help build the Mencap Centre in Belfast in 2016.
The centre, which officially opened its doors in March 2016, received partial funding from the Big Step Forward Appeal, marking Mencap NI’s most ambitious fundraising drive ever.
Rory McIlroy The Master: Heartbreak, Redemption, and Triumph – Get Your Exclusive 40-Page Special Edition Now!
During a visit back to his homeland, McIlroy took the opportunity to drop by the centre. At the time, Margaret Kelly, the director of Mencap Northern Ireland, expressed her excitement: “It was so exciting to show Rory around the Mencap Centre today and I know all of the children and families in attendance loved meeting him.
“The £500,000 donation from the Rory Foundation was a huge part of our success with the Big Step Forward Appeal and was vital in reaching our goal of £1.7million.”
She further highlighted the impact of the centre: “Now that the Mencap Centre is up and running, it is already changing the lives of the children with a learning disability who attend our nursery and it also serves as a resource and a gathering place for young people and adults with a learning disability and their families.”
Kelly also acknowledged the significant role played by McIlroy’s foundation: “The Rory Foundation had a big hand in making this important centre a reality and we can’t thank Rory and his team enough for their generosity.”
Pre-order your souvenir special edition of The Master: Rory McIlroy Joins the Giants of Golf today. With exclusive insights and stunning images, this commemorative publication is the perfect way to celebrate McIlroy’s incredible achievement.
Pre-order now and be among the first to receive this must-have item when it goes on sale on April 19th.
At Reach and across our entities we and our partners use information collected through cookies and other identifiers from your device to improve experience on our site, analyse how it is used and to show personalised advertising. You can opt out of the sale or sharing of your data, at any time clicking the “Do Not Sell or Share my Data” button at the bottom of the webpage. Please note that your preferences are browser specific. Use of our website and any of our services represents your acceptance of the use of cookies and consent to the practices described in our Privacy Notice and Cookie Notice.
