Rory McIlroy had to wait 14 years to win his fifth major title, but at Augusta last night, he managed to retain the Masters title in emphatic fashion
Rory McIlroy made amends for one mistake he made in his victory speech last year(Image: Sky Sports)
Rory McIlroy thanked his wife Erica Stoll in his Masters victory speech, one year after failing to do that at Augusta. Barely 365 days after his emotional and dramatic career Grand Slam triumph at Augusta, McIlroy emphatically retained his title at the same iconic course to pick up the £3.3million first prize again.
Having dominated Augusta in the first two rounds of this year’s Masters, only to lose his unprecedented six-shot lead in round three, McIlroy had to dig deep to overcome the likes of Cameron Young, Justin Rose and Scottie Scheffler. However, he saved some of his best form for the back nine, where he quickly got into a two-shot lead and never looked like losing it.
He could even afford to miss one of his putts on the 18th hole, which left him with a half-foot tap-in to win the major. As he did one year ago, after receiving his green jacket, he took to the microphone and gave a speech. In his post-match words, he made sure to pay special tribute to his wife, Stoll, after some had criticised him for failing to so last year.
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This year, he made a point of focusing in on her. In his speech, McIlroy noted: “This is the hard part. I want to say a few thank you’s to the people on my left. First and foremost, my wife and daughter, Erica and Poppy. They have to put up with me at home and, trust me, sometimes that’s a tough thing to do. But they have been my biggest supporters.
“This has definitely turned into Poppy’s favourite week of the year. I don’t know if it’s because of the Par 3 Tournament or it’s the all-you-can eat ice cream in the players’ services building.”
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In the eyes of many golf fans, it’s an improvement on last year’s speech, where he thanked his golf team and dedicated a specific section to his young daughter Poppy, but did not do so for Erica. At the time one golf fan on social media wrote, “Love the shout-out to his daughter … would’ve been nice if he acknowledged his wife,” while another added: “Weird that not once in the entire post-round interviews did he mention his wife by name.”
This year, having thanked Erica, he also turned to his parents, who missed his Master’s triumph last year, and said: “And also, I want to thank—not thank, jeez. My mom and dad. They weren’t here last year to celebrate with us (last year). Surprisingly, I had to convince them to come this year, because they thought that the reason that I won was because they weren’t here.
“So I’m glad that we proved that wrong. But mom and dad, I owe everything to you. You are the most wonderful parents. If I can be half the parent to Poppy as you were to me, then I know I’ve done a good job.”
In the end, the final standings had McIlroy ahead by one shot, but his victory was significantly more comfortable than his triumph last year, when he needed a play-off hole to overcome Rose. When the career Grand Slam was completed, McIlroy found himself in the play-off when he missed a four-foot putt to clinch the Masters on the 18th.
He did so again this year, except he was leading by two shots, meaning his half-foot putt to pick up his second Masters title was more of a formality instead of a high-pressure moment. He perhaps would have preferred to win it more emphatically, having amassed a six-shot lead after the first two rounds, only to let it slip with a disappointing showing in the third.
Nevertheless, in round four, he was resilient in the tough stages and ruthless in the clutch moments. After becoming the fourth player, after Jack Nicklaus, Sir Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods, to retain the Masters, considering his form and the lack of pressure he played most of the Grand Slam with, he may even be eying an unprecedented third consecutive triumph next year.
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