Why Does Professional Golfer Rory McIlroy Have a Dog Club Cover? About the Cute Golf Accessory
Rory McIlroy began his career in 2007 and went on to win some of the biggest titles in the sport of golf.
Published April 14 2025, 4:02 p.m. ET
Professional golfer Rory McIlroy is well-known for his numerous accolades and tournament-winning turns on the golf course — but eagle-eyed fans also want to know about the lesser-known details of the PGA Tour winner, specifically his dog club cover.
Rory began his career in 2007 and went on to win some of the biggest titles in the sport of golf, including the U.S Open, PGA Championship, Open Championship, and the Masters Tournament.
Why does Rory McIlroy have a dog club cover?
Devoted fans and dog lovers couldn’t help but notice that Rory has an adorable furry dog as the cover for his golf clubs — and the golf pro finally explained why.
"So I've had this headcover since I was 14 years old," Rory said in 2018 of the stuffed St. Bernard, per Golf Monthly. "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," he added. McIlroy has always been a dog lover and combined his love of golf and man’s best friend when he named his childhood dog Theo, after the first name of his idol Ernie Els.
What happened to Rory in April 2025?
On Sunday, April 13, Rory won the 2025 Masters Tournament and became only the sixth person in the history of golf to complete the career Grand Slam, according to CBS Sports.
“You’ve had Jack (Nicklaus), Gary (Player), Tom (Watson), Tiger (Woods), you name it, all come through here and say that I’ll win The Masters one day,” Rory said after winning the title, per CNN.
“These are idols of mine, and it’s very flattering that they believe in my abilities to win this tournament and achieve the grand slam,” Rory laughed. “But it doesn’t help! I wish they didn’t say it!”
“There wasn’t much joy in that reaction,” he said of his response to winning. “It was all relief. It was a decade plus of pent-up emotion that came out of me.”
“It was one of my toughest days I’ve ever had on the golf course,” Rory told reporters of the grueling quest for top honors. “I didn’t make it easy today, I certainly didn’t make it easy. There was points I thought, ‘Have I let this slip again?’ But I responded with clutch shots when I needed to and I’m really proud of myself for that. It’s been an emotionally draining week, a lot of rollercoaster rounds, and so just, you know, absolutely thrilled to be the last man standing.”
After Rory’s Grand Slam, fellow golfer and legend Tiger Woods, who is the youngest ever to achieve a Grand Slam at age 24, offered the golfer kind words. “Welcome to the club,” Tiger wrote on social media.
“Completing the grand slam at Augusta is something special. Your determination during this round and this entire journey has shown through, and now you’re a part of history. Proud of you!,” Tiger added.