Celebrating his 27th birthday today, Rory McIlroy is certainly one of the finest golfers in the sport today.

After a successful amateur career, the Northern Irishman has only gone from strength to strength as a pro. He hasn’t even reached 30, but is already a four-time major winner with his first being the 2011 US Open. In the same year, at just 22, he became the youngest player ever to reach $10m in career earnings on the
European Tour and repeated the feat in 2012 on the PGA Tour.

More success continued with the PGA Championship title in 2012 which he won again in 2014, before taking top honours at the Open. By joining Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus to win three majors by the age of 25, the World No3 continues to be a force. He also played a pivotal role for Europe in their Ryder Cup victories in 2010, 2012 and 2014.

1985: Ravinder Bopara, English cricketer for county club Essex and the England national team (31).

1986: George Hill, American basketball player for the NBA’s Indiana Pacers (30).

1987: Cesc Fabregas, Spanish footballer for Premier League club Chelsea and the Spain national team (29).

1987: Jorge Lorenzo, a professional motorcycle racer and 2010, 2012 and 2015 MotoGP world champion (29).