Top 10 in 2014: McIlroy moments

The turning point of a tournament usually happens Sunday on the back nine. At the British Open, McIlroy all but wrapped up his third major a day early. With an eagle-bogey-eagle finish to his third-round 68, McIlroy built a six-shot lead heading into the final round. He won his first claret jug by two, but the tournament was never really in doubt. (Getty Images)

A month after ending his engagement to Caroline Wozniacki, and nearly two years removed from his last major title, McIlroy won his third major by two strokes over Rickie Fowler and Sergio Garcia. ''I’m immensely proud of myself. To sit here, 25 years of age, and win my third major championship and be three-quarters of the way to a career Grand Slam ... yeah, I never dreamed of being at this point in my career so quickly.’' (Getty Images)

While Tiger Woods withdrew because of a recurring back injury, McIlroy finally did what Woods had done eight previous times at Firestone - walk away with a trophy. McIlroy won his first WGC event just two weeks after capturing his third major at the Open Championship. (Getty Images)

Not only did McIlroy win his first WGC event at Firestone, he also took back his rightful place at No. 1 for the first time since March 2013. In the span of three months, McIlroy captured the European Tour’s flagship event (BMW PGA), the claret jug and a World Golf Championship. (Getty Images)

In his three previous major victories, McIlroy made winning golf’s biggest events look easy. At the PGA, he proved he also knows how to dig deep and claw back for victory. Standing in the 10th fairway, McIlroy trailed by three. But he rallied to edge Phil Mickelson by a stroke to become only the fourth player (Bobby Jones, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods) to have four majors at 25 or younger. (Getty Images)

If he wants to be a rival of McIlroy’s, Rickie Fowler still has some work to do. He finished in the top 5 in all four majors, but Fowler walked away empty-handed, while McIlroy collected two more majors. And at Gleneagles, McIlroy dusted Fowler, 5 and 4, to help Europe secure another Ryder Cup. (Getty Images)

All relationships go through their ups and downs, but McIlroy and Graeme McDowell put theirs to the test. McIlroy is in an on-going legal dispute with Horizon Sports, the former management company for both players. One of the thorny issues in the case is that McIlroy claims McDowell got more favorable terms in his contract. Both players admit their relationship was strained, but they’ve come out better friends. We’ll see if that’s still the case when the trial ends next year. (Getty Images)

McIlroy’s historic season was so incredible, it’s easy to forget he had to overcome a string of “Freaky Fridays” earlier in the year. At the Memorial he went 63-78 and at the Scottish Open he went 64-78. At one point in the year, he was a combined 57 under in Round 1 and 9 over in Round 2. McIlroy ended all talk of “Freaky Fridays” at the right time, shooting a 66 in the second round of the Open on his way to a third major title. (Getty Images)

The invitations were sent out. A sports power couple was ready to tie the knot. But then McIlroy unexpectedly ended his engagement with tennis star Caroline Wozniacki in May, and took full responsibility for the split. ''The problem is mine. The wedding invitations issued at the weekend made me realize that I wasn’t ready for all that marriage entails,” he said in a statement. (Getty Images)

McIlroy’s incredible summer began after one of the most painful decisions of his life. Just days after calling off his engagement to Caroline Wozniacki, McIlroy rallied from seven back with a final-round 66 to win by one stroke at the BMW PGA. ''I guess when I got inside the ropes this week, it was a little bit of a release,” he said. (Getty Images)