- Rory McIlroy won his first green jacket and completed the career grand slam on Sunday at the Masters. It was his first major championship in 11 years.
- McIlroy may have climbed the list of all-time greats, but his public failures remain relatable.
- How did he win the Masters? His length off the tee gave him a historic advantage over his peers and other grand slam winners.
Full Story
Rory McIlroy called it the best day of his golfing life. The native of Northern Ireland realized his dreams following a rollercoaster Masters final round Sunday, April 13.
The demons from more than a decade of past failures were out there on the Augusta National course. However, McIlroy beat them all back –– more than once. And then he beat Justin Rose in a playoff to finally don the coveted green jacket.
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Should McIlroy be considered ‘someone like us?’
As the debate about where McIlroy sits amongst the game’s all-time greats begins, the up-and-down nature of his career makes him more like the average golfer than most professionals. Similarly, like many, he was inspired by the best.
“I’ve dreamt about that moment for as long as I can remember,” McIlroy said. “I mentioned it out in the prize ceremony, but watching Tiger [Woods] here in 1997 do what he did and winning his first green jacket, I think that inspired so many of my generation to want to emulate what he did.”
McIlroy added, “There were points in my career where I didn’t know if I would have this nice garment over my shoulders, but I didn’t make it easy today.”
McIlroy’s public struggles and many failures make him unique and relatable. The rollercoaster 19 holes he played Sunday were a microcosm of his career—the burden of expectations looming over him brought self-doubt to the forefront.
“It’s so hard to stay patient. It’s so hard to keep coming back every year and trying your best and not being able to get it done,” McIlroy said. “There was points on the back nine today I thought, you know, have I let this slip again? But again, I responded with some clutch shots when I needed to, and you know, I’m really proud of myself for that.”
How does McIlroy stack up with other grand slam winners?
McIlroy is now in legendary company, becoming the sixth golfer to win all four majors: the Masters, U.S. Open, PGA Championship and British Open Championship. The names are some of the greats in the game, including Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, and now McIlroy, 25 years after Tiger Woods did it.
What makes McIlroy unlike the everyman, as well as the golfers he joined as career grand slam winners, is that he hits it far –– very far. Technology and physical fitness have transformed the game. Ben Hogan hit his drives an average of 272 yards off the tee in 1953. The Golden Bear, as Nicklaus is affectionately known, is much the same. They were two of the longest hitters on tour in their primes.
Like Woods in the early 2000s, McIlroy has also taken the distance game to another level. His average tee shot is a full 30 yards longer than his idol, Woods.
How is McIlroy putting it all together to win even more?
While the saying goes, “Drive for show, putt for dough,” a monster shot off the tee allows players like McIlroy to use shorter irons on their approach shots, such as the gap wedge he hit from 125 yards on the first playoff hole. Shorter clubs give today’s pros more birdie and eagle chances when legends like Hogan and Nicklaus were still reaching for their woods.
So, where can his length and talent for overcoming failure take him? On Sunday, after the winning 3-foot putt fell, so too did McIlroy fall to his knees. He said of the win, “It frees me up” from the torment.
“That was all relief. There wasn’t much joy in that reaction,” McIlroy said. “It was all relief, and then, you know, the joy came pretty soon after that. But that was –– I’ve been coming here 17 years, and you know it was a good, a decade-plus of emotion that came out of me there.”
McIlroy now has 43 tournament wins worldwide, and he’s a five-time major winner. There are sure to be more disappointments, but the biggest hurdle has been cleared, and those long drives will likely lead to even more success. Next up is the PGA Championship, which begins May 13.
