"It's a very good indication to him, though, that if he keeps his hair that's how he's going to look when he's 45."

Rory McIlroy is carrying on the peculiar European Tour tradition (Poulter, Clarke, Westwood, Donald) of putting his hard earned millions toward regular visits to a high-priced hair salon where he was convinced life as a blond would be better. Maybe this is why he needs to stay closer to home next year?

"Northern Ireland celebrity hair dresser Paul Stafford wasn't kind in his initial review when talking to BBC NI.

"It's an absolute travesty of a hair style, it's a bad colour on the wrong type of hair," he said.

"It's a very good indication to him, though, that if he keeps his hair that's how he's going to look when he's 45."

He added that the fact the golfer usually sports a cap and is often playing in humid conditions also has an effect.

"The reality of it is he should really get his hair cut, it would look better and it would suit him to have a definite hair cut."