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Rory McIlroy wanted to quit golf at 16; not focused on Jack's 18

Believe it or not, there was a time when Rory McIlroy decided he didn’t want to pursue a career in professional golf.

It lasted all of three days.

“I was ready to give it up when I was 16,” he recalled Tuesday in advance of this week’s WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. “I remember the drive. I just won the Mullingar Scratch Cup, and I remember the drive home with my dad. It was like a three‑hour drive. And I said to him, ‘I don't like this anymore. I don't enjoy it. I just won, and I don't know, I'm not happy, I'm not excited.’”

McIlroy didn’t play for three days, and then came to the realization that he really does love the game.

Explaining it now, he called it “just an impulsive teenager going through hormonal issues.”

That instance remained his lone act of teenage rebellion against the game.

“That was like the only time,” he said. “Apart from that, I love the game of golf. It's been great to me over the years, obviously. As I said, this is what I always wanted to do. I'm really enjoying it.”

- Jason Sobel, Golf Channel