Rory McIlroy claimed Masters glory last year without his parents present and he had to convince them to come this time round – despite them fearing they were the jinx
Rory McIlroy went back-to-back as he claimed Masters glory once again
Rory McIlroy admitted that he had to do some convincing to get his parents to attend the Masters because they felt he only won 12 months ago because they were absent.
The Northern Irishman became just the fourth man to win at Augusta in successive years. Last year’s victory saw him complete the Career Grand Slam and this year his sixth major has drawn him level with Sir Nick Faldo.
As he walked off the 18th green he embraced his daughter, Poppy, and wife, Erica. He then shared a moment with his mother and father, whom he had eventually convinced to make the trip.
After some painful near misses and false starts at the Masters, McIlroy eventually got over the line last year to claim his first Green Jacket. But his parents were apprehensive about watching him in case they were in fact the jinx.
He said in his winner’s speech: “My mum and dad, they weren’t here last year to celebrate with us and I surprisingly I had to convince them to come this year, because they thought the only reason I won was because they weren’t here. So I’m glad we proved that wrong. But mum and dad I owe everything to you, you are the most wonderful parents, and if I can be half the parent to Poppy that you were to me I know I’ll have done a good job.”
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McIlroy found himself at -12 on Friday night, setting a Masters record as he established a six-shot lead over the field. They would soon close in and the 36-year-old would score level par across the final two days, but it was still enough to get over the line by one shot from Scottie Scheffler.
“It was a tough weekend but I’m so happy to hang in there and get the job done,” he said. “I wanted to come back and prove last year wasn’t a fluke.”
McIlroy was out of the lead early in his final round as Cameron Young took charge after the defending champion recorded a double bogey on the fourth. McIlroy would roar back with four birdies inside seven holes midway through his round – but joked that winning tournaments is not as easy as he once made it look.
He said: “I don’t make it easy! I used to make it easy back in my early 20s when I was winning these things by eight shots.
“No, it’s just hard. It’s hard to win golf tournaments, especially around here. You’ve had maybe a couple of runaway winners over the years, but it always seems to be a very tight finish at this golf course. I think it’s the nature of the golf course, it’s the nature of what’s at stake.
“I certainly didn’t think I was home and dry after Friday night, and I knew I still needed work to do. But I still thought I would need to shoot under-par to get the job done, but thankfully I did enough.”
