Rory Wins Grand Slam
He did it. He finally did it. Rory McIlroy tamed Augusta, tamed himself and won the Grand Slam by winning the Masters on the first playoff hole against Justin Rose.
In typical Rory fashion.
Up, down, left, right, four double bogey tournament holes (Masters record for a winner), water ball at Rae’s Creek, missed short putts galore including on 18 on Sunday to win it outright.
Oh, but the great was great and the elite was elite. See, Rory does it like no one else. All those doubles? No worries. He is an artist with the golf club. He can shape shots (#15 both Saturday and Sunday with 6 and 7 irons right to the hole) and pound drives and hit a tree (#7) and start Round 3 with a score of 3 on each of the first six holes and play with high risk because he knows better than anybody what his high reward is. It’s high reward on a historical level. High reward on a Masters Sunday level. High reward on a Grand Slam level.
Rory joins Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Ben Hogan, Gene Sarazen, and Gary Player as the only golfers to win all four of the modern-day major tournaments. A Super 6, if you will.
Rory was always on this path. Going back to being labeled as the “European Tiger” and hitting balls into a washing machine as a youngster and watching Woods dominate on the major stage time and time and time again. Rory had the game and the look and the swagger
But unlike Tiger, his ability to run away from the field and/or close when up on a major Sunday has been different through the years and we as viewers aren’t as confident when he steps over a 2-3-4-5 foot putt.
We are, however, most confident when Rory gets a double bogey to start Sunday. Because, like him, we settle in. We put our seat belts on, wait for high speeds and a wild ride and feel comfortable feeling uncomfortable. We experience a booming tee shot then an error into the sand and a failure to win outright by not getting up and down and missing a short putt.
We feel nervous before a playoff hole, even with Rory’s solid playoff mark, because of what just happened, but know booming drive-great approach inside Justin Rose’s ball has to happen because it’s Rory. It does. We wait for another short miss with the putter, but feel like it’s a make, tighten the seat belt more, and it goes in for the Grand Slam. Of course it did, he’s Rory (left cup, not perfect center, of course).
Rory haters crack me up. Some say he is boring and arrogant and selfish and just not likeable. Huh? He checks every golf box for me. How is he boring when he plays the game like a thrill ride and a video game? How is he arrogant when he respects the game so much and mostly gives full, authentic and honest answers about everything? Selfish? He put his ass on the line as the face of the PGA Tour when LIV arrived. And even if he backed up some of what he said, it was only in the timeline of events as purses and things changed and more parties were involved for a possible end to all this fighting. Who cares if he walked anything back anyway? Did anyone else on the PGA Tour take the lead in the first place? And not likeable? Did these people see his relief/celebration when that putt went in on #18 to win the playoff hole and the Masters and the Grand Slam? The tears and the collapse and the walk and the hugs and the facial expressions and the pent-up emotion for over a decade shared with family and friends, including his best in Shane Lowry?
Rory checks every golf box on and off the course.
The Green Jacket is his. The Masters is his. The Grand Slam is his. 6th man to ever do it.
With this hurdle cleared, buckle up for what’s next.
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