Rory McIlroy was finally able to don the famous green jacket after besting Justin Rose in a playoff to win The Masters at Augusta National, GA last Monday 14 April. The Irishman became just the sixth ever to complete the career Grand Slam (winning all four of golf’s major championships) adding The Masters title to wins in the PGA Championship, US Open and the Open Championship to cement his reputation as one of the greatest of all time.
McIlroy’s long awaited Masters win came in typically dramatic fashion, as a commanding early lead was reigned in by Englishman Justin Rose who capitalized on a nervy final round from Rory, as the eventual winner bogeyed the crucial final hole to send the pair into a sudden death playoff locked at -11 under par. The Co. Down native banished the ghosts of past Masters shortcomings, most famously his final round collapse from a four-shot lead at the 2011 iteration, to birdie the same hole he had faltered on just minutes before and clinch the green jacket on his 17th visit to the famed Augusta National course.
McIlroy detailed his relief at finally getting the Masters monkey off his back, “This is my 17th time here, and I started to wonder if it would ever be my time… I think the last 10 years coming here with the burden of the Grand Slam on my shoulders and trying to achieve that, I’m sort of wondering what we’re all going to talk about going into next year’s Masters.”
The Irishman displayed immense mental fortitude in riding the storm of a shaky final round, including a sensational moment on the 14th as his putt for par hovered about an atom’s width from the hole, enough to sew a sizable seed of doubt in the mind of any professional that it might just not be their day. However, he was able to produce his best in pivotal moments, finding a spectacular draw to set up a birdie on the 17th, and of course the winning putt in the playoff.
McIlroy has finally surpassed the sternest challenge to his legacy as one of golf’s greatest, and with a great many years left at the top level at the tender age of 35, one wonders just how far his legend could go.
