Rory McIlroy has won the Professional of the Year award. No, he hasn’t beaten Scottie Scheffler for the prestigious award given by the PGA Tour. We’re still a few days away from the winner of the Jack Nicklaus Trophy being revealed. However, the Irishman was honored with a similar award by another organization.

As confirmed by the official X account of the Irish Golf Writers’ Association, “Rory McIlroy and Michael Bannon were honoured by Irish Golf Writers’ Association.”

For those who doesn’t know, Bannon is McIlroy’s golf coach. He has been the Irishman’s coach ever since the latter was eight years old. Notably, the veteran trainer was a pro golfer himself at that time, having competed in the Irish PGA Championship in 1997. However, he left his aspirations to become a pro golfer behind after McIlroy completed his third year on the PGA Tour in October 2012. By then, the Grand Slam champion had already won two Majors.

Shifting the focus back to McIlroy, he was awarded the Professional of  the Year title for his remarkable achievements in 2025. Along with becoming the sixth pro to achieve the Career Grand Slam, he is also the first European to accomplish the feat.

That wasn’t his only contribution to make the continent proud this season. He also played a major role in helping Team Europe win the Ryder Cup at Bethpage. Moreover, his incredible 18th hole comeback at the K Club to claim the 2025 Amgen Irish Open also added to his tally of accomplishments in 2025. McIlroy has also been trying to help grow the sport by playing more international Opens, albeit while taking a hefty paycheck.

This is the sixth time McIlroy has received the award from the Irish Golf Writers’ Association. He also received the Amateur Player of the Year award twice in a row in 2006 and 2007. His close friend, Shane Lowry, has won the Professional award twice in his career. Interestingly, it was his protege, Tom McKibbin, who went against his advice of sticking with the PGA Tour, who won the prestigious honor in 2023 and 2024.

We’ve highlighted everything Rory McIlroy achieved to receive the award. Now, let’s look at Michael Bannon’s contribution to the Irish golf scene.

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How did Rory McIlroy’s coach achieve the prestigious award?

Michael Bannon helped Rory McIlroy win four titles this season, other than the 2025 Ryder Cup. He was honored with the Distinguished Service to Golf award by the Irish Golf Writers’ Association. But it wasn’t just his efforts this season that were recognized by the association.

They also talked about the hard work he put in to guide the Irishman on their official website. They mentioned how Bannon helped McIlroy win 45 titles across the world throughout his professional career so far.

In fact, IGWA also discussed the golf coach’s career as a pro. While he didn’t get any wins, he was still a consistent performer in Europe. Bannon was also a member of the PGA since 1981 before he switched to teaching.