[h=3]I was fortunate to play with Bannon's assistant at Ballyliffin and if Bannon is half as nice a fella as he is then he must be a top man!
RORY McILROY'S MENTOR IS NAMED PGA COACH OF YEAR[/h]
FROM THE PGA WEBSITE
Michael Bannon, coach to World No.2 golfer, Rory McIlroy, is the inaugural winner of the PGAs of Europe's John Jacobs Coach of the Year Award.
The head professional at Bangor Golf Club, near Belfast, who has coached the Northern Irish ace since he was eight years old, received the honour at the PGAs of Europe's annual awards in Portugal.
The accolade follows McIlroy's stunning rise to the top of world golf which was cemented earlier this year with his maiden major victory in the US Open at Congressional.
"It is very humbling to be honoured in this manner and I'm especially thrilled at receiving a trophy named after John Jacobs who was a coaching role model and partly responsible for me specialising in that side of the sport," said Bannon.
The 53-year-old was a fine player in his own right, having once finished runner up to Padraig Harrington in the Irish PGA Championship at Powerscourt in 1998.
Bannon regularly travels with McIlroy working constantly to evaluate the 22-year-old's swing as he bids to add more major titles to his CV.
During a coaching conference at the PGAs of Europe event on the Algarve, Bannon took part in a Q and A and delivered an insight into McIlroy the golfer.
"Rory gathers good people around him, people he can trust," explained Bannon.
"He's also very strong mentally and has always sought the next level. He always wants to talk to and play with the good players to see what he can learn from them. Even as a young boy he used to like to show what he could do.
"He has such unbelievable skills, and works on it so hard all the time, that I've had to improve my ability as a coach if I'm to help him."
RORY McILROY'S MENTOR IS NAMED PGA COACH OF YEAR[/h]
FROM THE PGA WEBSITE
Michael Bannon, coach to World No.2 golfer, Rory McIlroy, is the inaugural winner of the PGAs of Europe's John Jacobs Coach of the Year Award.
The head professional at Bangor Golf Club, near Belfast, who has coached the Northern Irish ace since he was eight years old, received the honour at the PGAs of Europe's annual awards in Portugal.
The accolade follows McIlroy's stunning rise to the top of world golf which was cemented earlier this year with his maiden major victory in the US Open at Congressional.
"It is very humbling to be honoured in this manner and I'm especially thrilled at receiving a trophy named after John Jacobs who was a coaching role model and partly responsible for me specialising in that side of the sport," said Bannon.
The 53-year-old was a fine player in his own right, having once finished runner up to Padraig Harrington in the Irish PGA Championship at Powerscourt in 1998.
Bannon regularly travels with McIlroy working constantly to evaluate the 22-year-old's swing as he bids to add more major titles to his CV.
During a coaching conference at the PGAs of Europe event on the Algarve, Bannon took part in a Q and A and delivered an insight into McIlroy the golfer.
"Rory gathers good people around him, people he can trust," explained Bannon.
"He's also very strong mentally and has always sought the next level. He always wants to talk to and play with the good players to see what he can learn from them. Even as a young boy he used to like to show what he could do.
"He has such unbelievable skills, and works on it so hard all the time, that I've had to improve my ability as a coach if I'm to help him."
