How to play the Rory McIlroy career timeline

Put Rory McIlroy's career back in order, one moment at a time, from turning pro as a teenager to his biggest wins and his most painful collapses. A hint under each card fills in the detail. You start with one moment on the timeline and its year showing. Choose a gap for every new card; if you're right the year appears, and if you're wrong the moment still slides into its true place while you lose one of three lives.

Wins on both sides of the Atlantic, Ryder Cups, majors and near-misses all sit in the same deck. The hints mention courses and how each event unfolded, which is often enough to separate two similar cards. His career has long stretches between big titles as well as bursts of winning, and judging those gaps is where most runs come undone.

Want a longer game? On the deck tree you can tick this deck alongside any other one measured in release years and dates, and they shuffle into a single timeline together.

What's in the deck

Here are 27 of the 27 cards you might be dealt. Their values stay hidden until you place them.

Turned professional Left the amateur ranks as a hyped teenage prospect
Won his first European Tour title at the Dubai Desert Classic Broke through for a maiden professional victory
Won his first PGA Tour title at Quail Hollow Closed with a course-record round for a first American win
Made his Ryder Cup debut in Europe's win at Celtic Manor Played on a winning European side for the first time
Led into Sunday then collapsed at the Masters Squandered a four-shot final-round lead at Augusta
Won the U.S. Open in a record romp at Congressional Answered his Masters heartbreak with a record-setting rout
Rose to world No. 1 for the first time Reached the top of the world ranking
Won the PGA Championship by eight at Kiawah Island Set a record margin for a second major title
Won the Open Championship at Royal Liverpool Led wire-to-wire to capture the Claret Jug
Won the PGA Championship at Valhalla Won in near-darkness for a fourth major
Won the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth Captured Europe's flagship event
Won the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational Added a World Golf Championship in a dominant summer
Ruptured an ankle ligament playing soccer A kickabout injury forced him to miss a major defense
Won the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow Returned to a favorite course for another title
Won the FedEx Cup and Tour Championship at East Lake Captured the season-long playoff crown
Won the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill Ended a title drought at Arnold Palmer's event
Won the Players Championship at Sawgrass Won the Tour's flagship event
Won a second FedEx Cup at the Tour Championship Claimed the season-long title again at East Lake
Won the RBC Canadian Open Ran away with the national open of Canada
Won the Wells Fargo Championship again at Quail Hollow Added another win at a course that suits him
Won the CJ Cup to reclaim world No. 1 Returned to the top of the ranking with a victory
Won the RBC Canadian Open a second time Successfully defended his Canadian title after a pandemic gap
Won the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai Closed the European season with a season-ending win
Won the Scottish Open at the Renaissance Club Won the week before the Open with a clutch finish
Lost a late lead at the U.S. Open at Pinehurst Missed short putts down the stretch as the title slipped away
Won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am Captured a signature event on the California coast
Completed the career Grand Slam with a Masters playoff over Justin Rose Finally won at Augusta to join golf's most exclusive club