It was a moment that’s been anticipated by patrons (not fans, of course) for over a decade. 11 years after winning The Open Championship in England, Rory McIlroy has become the sixth golfer ever to complete a career grand slam, the achievement accomplished by winning all four major golf championships: the Masters, the US Open, The Open Championship and the PGA Championship.
It was undoubtedly an up-and-down Masters week for McIlroy. He started Thursday off strong, at one point reaching four-under-par before double bogeying on holes 15 and 17 to end with a disappointing even-par round. However, he bounced back, posting monstrous six-under-pars on both Friday and Saturday to set himself up for a chance to close the deal on Sunday. McIlroy’s final round on Sunday was filled with fluctuation, including only seven pars. It consisted of some incredible shots, like his approach on the 15th hole to set up an eagle putt, and some not-so-incredible misses, like his third shot on the 13th hole which found the water. He ended the round with a score of one-over-par (11-under-par for the tournament) after missing a four-foot putt that would have sealed the deal. Fans groaned and covered their eyes in disbelief — was he really going to choke again?
McIlroy’s chances did not look great as he headed into a playoff against Justin Rose, but he finally exorcised his demons in the afternoon sunlight when he sunk a short birdie putt to clinch his first-ever Masters win. After completing the playoff victory, Rory threw his putter in the air and fell to his knees, tears welling in his eyes.
Jim Nantz put it best when he, on the brink of tears himself, said McIlroy’s reaction was “as authentic as anything anyone’s ever seen” and “we had seen the weight that [he] had been carrying all that time.”
When asked about his reaction, McIlroy said that the win represented something 14 years in the making, dating back to when he had a four-stroke lead going into the final day of the 2011 Masters before collapsing and shooting eight-over-par to finish in a tie for fifteenth.
This win clearly meant more than previous wins to McIlroy. In his victory speech, he called the Masters “by far the greatest golf tournament in the world.” He referenced cherished moments watching the tournament with his father as a young boy before saying that being able to wear the green jacket is “a dream come true.”
“This is my 17th time here, and I started to wonder if it would ever be my time,” McIlroy said later in the interview.
This adequately summarizes how many fans have felt about McIlroy’s breakdowns in big moments in recent years. But there wasn’t one person who was unhappy to see McIlroy win, including Justin Rose, who was a class act in defeat.
“It was pretty cool to be able to share that moment with him, even though I wanted to be the bad guy today,” Rose said, referring to the aftermath of Rory’s tournament-winning putt.
While this was certainly a fairytale moment for McIlroy, there’s always another side to the coin, as Sunday unfolded in absolute heartbreak for Justin Rose, a 20-year Masters vet who started the day seven strokes back of the lead but fought his way into a playoff before ultimately being defeated. It was déjà vu for Rose, who also lost the 2017 Masters to Sergio Garcia in a playoff. When asked about it, he maintained a positive attitude and outlook for the future of his career.
“I bounced back pretty well from that too, I went on to be world number one after that, so used it to my advantage,” Rose said.
Rose dominated the tournament early on, nearly setting the course record by shooting a seven-under-par on Thursday, followed by another stellar one-under-par performance on Friday. In spite of his three-over-par performance on Saturday, he bounced back with another unbelievable Sunday performance (six-under-par) to force a playoff with McIlroy.
McIlroy’s legacy is finally secured, as he’s now gotten it done on golf’s biggest stage. Still, both McIlroy and Rose look to the future in their careers. McIlroy said in his victory speech that he looks forward to many more tournaments at Augusta, and Rose looks to make a similar comeback to the one he was able to swing after his heartbreaking 2017 loss. Despite McIlroy and Rose being 35 and 44, respectively (which would’ve made Rose the second oldest winner in Masters history), neither has shown signs of slowing down, with McIlroy sitting at second in the Official World Golf Ranking and Rose placing second in his last two major appearances, including this tournament and last year’s rendition of The Open Championship.
