Rory McIlroy is a Masters champion. That’s a sentence golf fans have been waiting to utter for 14 years, ever since his gutting collapse in the fourth round at Augusta National Golf Club in 2011. It’s now firmly a reality after 73 holes completing one of the most incredible Sundays — and tournaments — in Masters history.
It was not easy — and really, it would not have been appropriate for it to be a simple trek toward a green jacket for McIlroy at this course.
Rory lost a two-shot lead after as many holes, ever-so-briefly led by five around the turn and nearly collapsed entirely missing a putt on the 18th green that would have clinched his first green jacket in regulation. Still, for the first time, McIlroy found the response he needed every time it looked as if the wheels had fallen off.
A double bogey on the 13th and a bogey on the 14th was followed by perfect iron shots on Nos. 15 and 17 for birdies. A bogey on No. 18 sent him to a playoff with Justin Rose, where he delivered the latest shot of his life — in a tournament full of them — to give create a 2-footer for a green jacket and $4.2 million. That putt he sank, and what transpired across the 6 minutes that followed was one of the most raw, emotional scenes you’ll ever see on a golf course.
CBS lead broadcaster Jim Nantz delivered his call of the moment — “The long journey is over. McIlroy has his masterpiece.” — and then largely laid out as McIlroy allowed his emotions to pour over him and out to the patrons who surrounded the 18th green showering him with cheers and adulation.
It was a truly incredible scene with McIlroy collapsing to the green in tears; greeting his wife, Erica, and daughter, Poppy; then climbing the hill above the 18th to the clubhouse to great friends like Shane Lowry while trying to grasp his accomplishment.
Finally, a handful of minutes after the putt dropped, McIlroy collected himself and delivered an iconic line to his friends as he exited for Butler Cabin: “I gotta go get a green jacket!”
After meeting with Nantz and Augusta National Golf Club chairman Fred Ridley in Butler Cabin for the initial green jacket ceremony, they returned to the 18th green for the ceremony in front of the patrons where McIlroy let out a sigh of relief and soaked in the moment as Scottie Scheffler helped him put on his green jacket in a more public fashion.
McIlroy later got choked up while thanking his family and team for their support over the years, and he offered a final note to his daughter.
“My family, my team, they’ve been on this journey with me the whole way through. They know the burden I’ve carried to come here every year and try and try and try again,” he said.
“And the one thing I would say to my daughter, Poppy, sitting over there: Never give up on your dreams. Never, ever give up on your dreams. Keep coming back, keep working hard, and if you put your mind to it, you can do anything. I love you.”
It was a green jacket ceremony 14 years in the making, a career grand slam celebration that took longer to achieve than any of the five men who came before him.
The coronation walk around the second nine at Augusta National that never happened in 2011 began building scar tissue that, at times, appeared as if it would never allow him to become a Masters champion. All of that was on display across his second nine on Sunday, but unlike the Rory of old, this version had not just the game but the mental fortitude to fight off his own demons and nagging doubts to conquer it all — the course, the field, history and most of all, himself.
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