The reason why Rory McIlroy has always put a dog headcover on his golf clubs has been revealed.
On Thursday, one of the biggest events on the annual golf calendar got underway as the Masters began at Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia.
Heading in to the competition, many fans have been rooting for world number two McIlroy, who needs to win the Masters if he hopes to complete a rare career Grand Slam.
But as they've watched the Northern Irishman impress at Augusta National, some have questioned why he has a dog headcover over his golf clubs, and now we know why.
Throughout his career, McIlroy has won four majors, the U.S. Open in 2011, the Open Championship in 2014 and the PGA Championship in both 2012 and 2014.
Most recently, Rory won what many consider to be the unofficial fifth major after beating JJ Spaun to win The Players Championship in March.
And present for all of these massive wins, as well as throughout his Masters 2025 campaign thus far, has been his iconic St Bernard club headcover, which he revealed has been with him since he was playing as a teenager.
Explaining why he uses the headcover to TaylorMade golf, McIlroy " target="_blank" class="link"> said: "So I've had this dog on my headcover since I was 14 years old.
"I've always loved dogs, I had a couple of dogs growing up and I'm just a big dog person.
"This guy has done a lot of air miles, we've probably been around the world together 100 times so he's seen a lot of cool things."
As he began his bid for the Masters 2025 trophy, McIlroy got off to a flying start in round one, finishing three under par for the first nine holes.
The 35-year-old got another birdie on the 13th hole, but then completely fell apart on holes 15 and 17, double bogeying them both and finshing the round on par.
Many fans felt that the disappointing end to McIlroy's first round put him out of contention for the Masters this year, but the golf star dug in and produced a stunning six under par round two to keep his dreams of finally collecting a green jacket this weekend alive.
