On Sunday, Rory McIlroy hit a huge career milestone. He became only the sixth player in history to ever accomplish a career Grand Slam! He secured this historic accomplishment by winning The Masters, a prestigious tournament that adds The Green Jacket to his accolades. McIlroy last won a major title 11 years ago, achieving it at the 2014 USPGA. Yet, this victory renders the moment even more poignant.
It sounds like the career Grand Slam, that near-impossible golfing accomplishment. It doesn’t just take winning The Masters, PGA Championship, US Open, and Open Championship. McIlroy encountered many obstacles throughout his path at Augusta. His fortunes went south in a hurry when he opened by making double-bogey 6 at the first hole. He attributed this first miss to settling his nerves as he went around the course.
I certainly didn’t make it easy today. I was nervous. It was the hardest day I’d ever played golf that day. After making his birdie putt to win, McIlroy dropped to his knees on 18th green. At first, he was just too stunned to process what it all meant.
The timing of McIlroy’s triumph couldn’t have been much worse for Manchester United, his favourite football club since childhood. Hours before McIlroy’s historic win, Manchester United suffered their 14th Premier League defeat of the season, losing 4-1 to Newcastle United. After the game, supporters unleashed their anger when it was made clear that Marc’s charges were still failing to put league results together.
Given his considerable golf success, McIlroy said he wished his accomplishment would encourage improved play from Manchester United. When asked if he would consider wearing his newly acquired Green Jacket at Old Trafford, the iconic stadium where United plays, he responded enthusiastically.
So I’d be quite delighted to wear my Green Jacket at a Manchester United match,” he said. I’m hopeful that donning the Green Jacket will lead to a few more aces and some even fancier footwork.
When it came to his most recent win, McIlroy personally had the weight of his career on him. He’d been working toward this historic accomplishment for years. “There were points in my career where I didn’t know if I would have this nice garment over my shoulders,” he shared.
And indeed he admitted that facing his fears played a key role throughout his journey on Sunday. He’d hardly been able to eat earlier that day due to a bad case of pre-competition jitters. With his big Green Jacket victory check box filled, McIlroy seems a little more free. “It was a heavy weight to carry, and thankfully now I don’t have to carry it and it frees me up,” he concluded.
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