With father Gerry in tow to perform caddy duties, the McIlroys thought they better get more than a week out of their time in Melbourne and entered qualifying for the Australian Open two weeks before his shot at the gold jacket. <\/p>\n
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That decision created an unforgettable memory for Queensland amateur Matthew Toomey. <\/p>\n
Fresh off landing in Melbourne, the McIlroys, along with budding English amateur Oliver Fisher and his father Rupert, made the journey down Victoria\u2019s Mornington Peninsula to Rosebud Country Club. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey hadn\u2019t been to Australia before, and I don\u2019t think they\u2019d play any other rounds as they\u2019d just flown in,\u201d Toomey recalled to foxsports.com.au. <\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I don\u2019t think there would have been too many times since where he would have had to pre-chop (qualify for) a pro tournament. <\/p>\n
\u201cIn hindsight, it\u2019s funny that he had to come down and pay whatever the entry fee was, $100 entry or so, and try to qualify for the Australian Open.\u201d <\/p>\n
A teen Rory McIlroy of the MasterCard Masters at Huntingdale Golf Course December 8, 2005 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Quinn Rooney\/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
With nearby Moonah Links playing host to that year\u2019s Australian Open, Rosebud\u2019s North Course was chosen as the site for Monday qualifying. <\/p>\n
The championship course, which currently costs $110 for a public booking, is no slouch as it hosts an event on the PGA Tour of Australasia annually but is a far humbler setting than the prestigious clubs located in Melbourne. <\/p>\n
That is why Toomey\u2019s practice round with McIlroy and Fisher on Sunday 20 November, felt as if was a normal weekend social affair. <\/p>\n
The accountant, who was daring to dream of qualifying for his national open, ended up with the pair of promising youngsters by chance, having called up the pro-shop the day prior to lock in a tee time. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just an absolute miracle that a 16-year-old kid that I played golf with 20 years ago is now a career grand slammer,\u201d Toomey recalled. <\/p>\n
Toomey was so taken aback by what he saw from the teenagers that he wrote a blog about it. <\/p>\n
Over the years as McIlroy began collecting accolades, Toomey\u2019s words – \u201cthese two are destined for bigger and better things\u201d – became more prophetic. <\/p>\n
\u201cI remember I got a few holes in, and I was like, these guys are actually pretty good,\u201d he said with a chuckle. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe way they could shape the ball, and have the right clubs, and they had a really good attitude. <\/p>\n
\u201cI remember I was on one of the tees and we had a bit of a wait, so I was asking what have you done? And that was when Oliver said he\u2019d played Walker Cup that year (the amateur version of the Ryder Cup) and Rory had won the Irish Amateur Close Championship, and I was like \u2018oh okay\u2019, and they were asking me what have you done? <\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I had nothing to say. I\u2019m just a nuffy accountant from Brisbane. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut you certainly knew they had talent. <\/p>\n
Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy in 2005 on his way to mega stardom.Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fact they\u2019d been invited to play in the Australian Masters and that\u2019s the reason they were down in Australia in the first place – others had a view then that these guys could be special.\u201d <\/p>\n
Fisher was the then youngest ever golfer to play in a Walker Cup, while McIlroy still holds the record as the youngest person to ever win the Irish Amateur Close Championship, having done so at age 15. <\/p>\n
Despite such early success, the thing that perhaps stood out the most to Toomey was the impressive attitudes of both young golfers. <\/p>\n
\u201cI was really impressed with their personalities. I\u2019ve been around the golf industry for a long time, and you get kids who get a bit cocky, or they have the wrong attitude,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cI thought these two would be great role models for kids in Australia to see how these 16, 17-year-olds behaved.\u201d <\/p>\n
Neither of them had much to be frustrated by. <\/p>\n
In the practice round, Fisher and McIlroy faced off in a friendly matchplay affair with the Englishman prevailing one-up. <\/p>\n
It was the Northern Irishman, who got the last laugh the following day in the actual Monday qualifying event, however. <\/p>\n
McIlroy shot a 69 to earn a place in a seven-way playoff for the fourth alternate position, which he won, while Fisher shot 72 to miss out. <\/p>\n
Four people did then pull out of the Australian Open, and the future legend of the sport earned his fifth ever start in a professional event, and his first outside of the United Kingdom or Ireland. <\/p>\n
So Close! Bland Denied $1M shot | 00:37<\/p>\n
He missed the cut, shooting 73 and 79 as Robert Allenby went on to win the Australian Open. <\/p>\n
\u201cToday you wouldn\u2019t get in as the fourth alternate, but back then it was a bit different because if anyone pulled out, back then it didn\u2019t necessarily go to the next person with a tour card – it went to the qualifiers,\u201d Toomey said. <\/p>\n
\u201cTo win a seven-way playoff for one chance at an alternate to get in, I thought was pretty cool.\u201d <\/p>\n
A fortnight later, McIlroy did make the cut at the Australian Masters, finishing tied 49th as Allenby won again. <\/p>\n
The youngster was also upstaged by travel partner with Fisher coming in tie for 13th \u2013 shooting the lowest final round with a 66 to share low amateur honours with future world No.1 Jason Day. <\/p>\n
Fisher went on to become a European Tour player, picking up a victory in 2011, as well as playing in LIV Golf\u2019s inaugural event in 2022. <\/p>\n
McIlroy, meanwhile, quickly shot to superstardom. <\/p>\n
\u201cHis rise was pretty meteoric,\u201d Toomey said. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt would have been only a year or two later that he was in contention at The Open as an amateur. <\/p>\n
\u201cFive and a half years later, he was winning a major championship. <\/p>\n
\u201cStardom came pretty quickly compared to a lot of other pros.\u201d <\/p>\n
As McIlroy\u2019s face became more recognisable around the world, Toomey had one regret from his round with the generational talent. <\/p>\n
\u201cI regret not getting a selfie or a photo but didn\u2019t have an iPhone back then,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know how many members of Rosebud would know that Rory played there,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019d no photos from that day, which is a shame really because if they had them, they\u2019d hang them in the clubhouse.\u201d <\/p>\n
Toomey and McIlroy\u2019s paths crossed once again eight years later, however. <\/p>\n
Golf\u2019s newest superstar ventured back to Australia for the third time in his life \u2013 having also played the Australian Open in 2006, coming tied 59th \u2013 for the 2013 Australian Open at Royal Sydney. <\/p>\n
He played the role of party pooper on this occasion, outduelling Masters champion and Australian hero Adam Scott in the final round to lift the Stonehaven Cup. <\/p>\n
Rory McIlroy remembers Matt Toomey in the clubhouse at Royal Sydney after winning the 2013 Australian Open.Source: FOX SPORTS<\/p>\n
Toomey was perhaps the only Australian in the clubhouse who was chuffed with McIlroy\u2019s victory. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe won the 2013 Australian Open and I was on the board of Golf Queensland then,\u201d he recalled. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey have a little after party afterwards in the clubhouse for the dignitaries, and he came in for ten minutes to do the obligatory stuff as the champion. <\/p>\n
\u201cAs soon as he won, I was like, that\u2019s it. I\u2019m going to go and get a photo. <\/p>\n
\u201cAnd so I did, and I had a mate take a whole bunch of photos. <\/p>\n
\u201cRory said he remembered the round and recognised me. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe could just be saying that, but it\u2019s pretty cool that he said that.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"He was \u201ca little bit chubby and pudgy\u201d with \u201cthe whitest legs you\u2019ve ever seen\u201d, but at only…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":319708,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[566],"tags":[180211,5487,180219,180209,180218,64,63,689,180233,651,180226,180216,180234,180215,180212,2057,180210,2105,755,180220,10919,169830,26779,5499,180224,647,151426,3583,5492,180227,677,180221,180217,163614,180228,701,28008,175643,756,175346,29460,180222,180231,85,180223,180229,180213,120051,180214,3586,660,180232,180230,180225],"class_list":["post-319707","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-absolute-miracle","tag-adam-scott","tag-alternate-position","tag-amateur-honours","tag-amateur-version","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australia-and-new-zealand","tag-australian-hero","tag-brisbane","tag-budding-english-amateur","tag-caddy-duties","tag-career-grand-slammer","tag-championship-course","tag-entry-fee","tag-europe","tag-friendly-matchplay-affair","tag-getty-images-inc","tag-golf","tag-golf-industry","tag-golfing-world","tag-inaugural-event","tag-ireland","tag-jason-day","tag-matthew-toomey","tag-melbourne","tag-mornington-peninsula","tag-northern-europe","tag-northern-ireland","tag-nuffy-accountant","tag-oceania","tag-oliver-fisher","tag-party-hole","tag-party-pooper","tag-public-booking","tag-queensland","tag-quinn-rooney","tag-robert-allenby","tag-rory-mcilroy","tag-rosebud-country-club","tag-royal-queensland","tag-rupert","tag-seven-way-playoff","tag-sports","tag-talented-teen","tag-tee-time","tag-tour-card","tag-tournament-organisers","tag-travel-partner","tag-united-kingdom","tag-victoria","tag-whitest-legs","tag-world-famous","tag-young-golfers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319707","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=319707"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319707\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/319708"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=319707"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=319707"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=319707"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}