It was on that now far-off trip - during which he played in the Dunes Medal and the Australian Masters at Huntingdale - that the amateur McIlroy tip-toed through pre-qualifying for the Australian Open. Remarkably, that remains the only time he has ever passed such a test. Similar teenage attempts at qualifying for the (British) Open and US Open ended in failure.

Indeed, McIlroy’s qualifying adventure 21 years ago begs further explanation. It was anything but straightforward and perhaps goes some way to explaining the root of his long-held loyalty to the championship. Playing alongside Queenslander Andrew Duffin at the Rosebud Country Club on the Mornington Peninsula, McIlroy’s round of 69 was good enough only to get him into a seven-man play-off for the fourth alternate spot in the championship proper.

In action at Huntingdale during an early trip to Australia 21 years ago. PHOTO: Getty Images.

“I could tell he was a special talent,” Duffin told this magazine a year ago. “The way Rory drove the ball was as good if not better than now. He was 20-30 yards longer than me. He’d probably hit it 100 past me now. And the height on his shots was so impressive. It seemed to stay in the air forever. I played a bit of golf with Adam Scott when I was younger and I had the same feeling about Rory that I had about Adam. Looking back, it was a once-in-a-lifetime thing for me.”

As for the play-off, it was a contest that would last only two holes. The fresh-faced Rory and another amateur, Ray Beaufils, were the only two of the original seven to make par on the opener, a tough par-4 playing into a strong breeze.

“It came down to Rory and myself on the second hole,” says Beaufils. “It was a short par-4. I was longer than him back then and had only 50-yards for my approach, which finished maybe 30-feet above the hole. It was a fast putt and I hit it well past. Then he put pressure on me to make my second putt. I actually ended up four-putting. It’s fun to look back on that day, though, considering all that Rory has since done in the game.”

Four withdrawals later, McIlroy was in the field at Moonah Links for an Australian Open which Melbourne native Robert Allenby would win by a shot. But it was a short-lived appearance. Rounds of 73-79 resulted in the inexperienced youngster missing the halfway cut by three strokes.

Soon enough, of course, things improved for the precocious McIlroy, whose almost two-decade long career is dotted with notable feats. He is, apart from anything else, the emotional heart of the European Ryder Cup team that has so dominated recent matches with the United States. But his undoubted highlight was all his own work. Victory at the 2025 Masters saw him complete the career Grand Slam. Only five men (Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Player, Nicklaus and Tiger Woods) had previously cleared the highest bar in men’s professional golf.

When Rory dropped that he preferred Kingston Heath over Royal Melbourne ahead of last year’s Open, no one who knows him was surprised. PHOTO: Getty Images.

Elsewhere, just about everything of note on McIlroy’s impressive CV has occurred on either the DP World (European) Tour or the PGA Tour, the two highest-profile circuits in the game and clearly the places to be and play. All of which makes the announcement of Golf Australia’s partnership with both entities so potentially exciting.

Covering 2027, 2028 and 2029, the new agreement will enable the national championship to again be co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour and the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia. A significant increase in prize money is expected, as well as “a distinct window in the global golf calendar to optimise the opportunity to attract the world’s best players.”

“Our ambition is clear,” said Golf Australia CEO James Sutherland. “We want the Australian Open to be recognised among the top-10 most prestigious golf tournaments. Everything we are doing for the event stems from that ambition.”

Sutherland didn’t mention McIlroy directly, but there is little doubt the Northern Irishman’s presence at Royal Melbourne last year has accelerated the championship’s planned process of improvement. In contrast with recent years, the 2025 Australian Open commanded worldwide attention in the golf media, largely because McIlroy made the effort to play. Happily, others may follow suit. Momentum is definitely building. Speaking at the Scottish Open earlier this year, Scheffler and Jon Rahm expressed an interest in making the Australian Open part of their schedules going forward. If that happens, McIlroy is due some of the credit.

Still, not everything is guaranteed to be a positive. Not everyone sees the prospect of three Opens being played over a revamped North Adelaide course between 2028 and 2034 as something that will improve the stature of the event. McIlroy, however, takes something of a pragmatic view.

“As for going to Adelaide, you have to balance what is great for a golfing purist like myself with commercial realities,” he says. “Trying to host these big events outside Melbourne is not lost on me - I get it - but at the same time, it’s hard to think of moving away from the Sandbelt. Then again, those courses may not want an Open every year. It can take a big toll on a club and a membership. It is disruptive. So it’s all a balancing act.”

He knows exactly how important his appearance is at events in Australia like this, especially to kids. PHOTO: Getty Images.

Okay, time out. Clearly, there are a few possibilities currently in play, but what sort of Australian Open would McIlroy like to see by, say, 2031? As ever, his response is provocative in its possibilities.

“In five years, I’d like to see an elevated Australian Open,” he says. “It maybe has to be in the same time frame, but by then it needs to be in a more prominent part of the schedule. If it is to be a co-sanctioned event on both the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour (as the Scottish Open already is), it needs to be early in the calendar year.

“This might be pie-in-the-sky stuff, but I don’t feel like the Race to Dubai needs to finish at the end of the calendar year. The new proposals for the PGA Tour mean that by 2028, it will likely run from February through August. So why can’t the European Tour conclude at the end of January?

“If that were the case, the Australian Open could own a high-profile slot on the schedule. Imagine the field it could attract. It would be part of a huge climax to the DP World Tour. It would be more meaningful and have a bigger impact on the season standings. That to me is when it really should be played.”

Should that come to pass, McIlroy’s contribution will surely be recognised. Which would be appropriate. More people need to know how good he and the Australian Open have been for each other. Moving forward together hand-in-hand, they make quite the partnership.