Rory McIlroy finally won the Masters on his 17th attempt on Sunday night as he defeated Justin Rose in a play-off
Rory McIlroy was over the moon on Sunday night, declaring it a “dream come true” as he triumphed over Justin Rose in a nail-biting play-off to clinch the 89th Masters and secure his career grand slam. Reflecting on his journey, he confessed, “I started to wonder if it would ever be my time” during his 17th attempt at Augusta.
Back in 2017, McIlroy had to prematurely wrap up a season without victories, marking only the second time in his professional career, after disclosing an irregular heartbeat issue. A rib injury also derailed his season that year.
Come January 2018, at a press conference, McIlroy expressed relief about the previous season’s end: “I was excited to be done [last season]. After three and a half months, I’m very happy to be back. I felt like I needed it [the break] physically and mentally. I’ve been out here for 10 years and it felt like a bit of a sabbatical.”
He opened up about the interplay between his mental and physical struggles, saying: “Mentally I wasn’t in a great place and that was because of where I was physically. I feel prepared now, I feel ready and I feel ready to challenge. I feel really good about where I’m at with my health. I’ve put all that behind me, which has been great.”
After his stunning victory on Sunday, McIlroy couldn’t hide his elation: “I have dreamt about that moment for as long as I can remember. Watching Tiger (Woods) here in 1997 do what he did, winning his first green jacket, I think that inspired so many of my generation to want to emulate what he did.
“It feels incredible. This is my 17th time here and I started to wonder if it would ever be my time.
“The last 10 years coming here with the burden of the grand slam on my shoulder and trying to achieve it, I wonder what we’re going to talk about going into next year. I’m absolutely honoured, thrilled and proud to be able to call myself a Masters champion.”
McIlroy confessed that it was “all relief” that made him sink to his knees after holing the winning putt, adding: “It was 14 years in the making, from having a four-shot lead (after three rounds) in 2011. There was a lot of pent up emotion that came out on the 18th green and a moment like that makes all the years and close calls worth it.”
McIlroy’s fourth birdie of the day on the 10th had given him a five-shot lead, but he inexplicably pitched into Rae’s Creek on the 13th to run up a second double bogey of the day and also dropped a shot on the 14th. After a birdie on the 17th had seen him regain the lead, McIlroy bogeyed the 18th and was grateful for the intervention of his caddie Harry Diamond before the play-off.
“After scoring, Harry and I were walking to the golf cart to bring us back to the 18th tee, and he said to me, “Well pal, we would have taken this on Monday morning,” McIlroy said.
“I’m like, ‘Yeah, absolutely we would have’. That was an easy reset. I just kept telling myself, just make the same swing you made in regulation. And I hit a great drive up there and the rest is history. I had two yards less in the play-off than regulation and a flatter lie as well. It was a good number, just needed a committed swing and made one at the right time.”
