RORY MCILROY finally got the Hollywood ending that the boy from Holywood deserved as he ended his 11-year wait for a career Grand Slam on Sunday.
On his 17th attempt at winning The Masters, McIlroy etched his name into golfing folklore with a rollercoaster final round that saw him pip Justin Rose in a playoff to slip into the famous Green Jacket for the first time.
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McIlroy has long been one of golf’s greatest ever talents, but until he earned himself a spot in the Augusta champion’s dressing room there was always going to be doubt about whether he truly fulfilled his potential.
Now, aged 35, he can look back at the nine-year-old kid that was chipping golf balls into his washing machine and know that he’s become one of just six players in the history of the sport to notch all four majors.
He joins Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Ben Hogan, Gary Player and Gene Sarazen on that list of golfing immortals.
But even though it all came down to just one 5ft putt for birdie, the journey started over 25 years ago and has been one hell of a ride for the Northern Irishman.
CHILD SUPERSTAR
Everyone in Holywood, County Down knew that Rory McIlroy was a name to remember way before he was making headlines across the world.
A young kid that was juggling schoolwork with non-stop practice, McIlroy was never far away from the fairways growing up.
A video of him at just three-years-old shows a near-perfect golf swing in the living room of his family home.
And before he was even old enough to go to secondary school, McIlroy was on prime-time TV in Ireland showing off his skills.
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Appearing on UTV’s Kelly Show in 1999, McIlroy chipped balls into a washing machine for an awestruck audience after being asked on the show following success at he World Junior Tournament under-10 division in Florida.
For McIlroy it was always going to be golf, and thanks to the unwavering support of parents Gerry and Rosie, who both worked second jobs to help him, he was able to earn his stripes as an Amateur.
At just 15-years-old he won the Irish Amateur Close Championship, by 17 he was European amateur champion and a matter of months after his 18th birthday he was leading amateur at the 2007 Open.
PROFESSIONAL BREAKTHROUGH
McIlroy’s global arrival happened in the years that followed as he earned his first professional win in 2009 – the Dubai Desert Classic aged 19.
It was that same year that he made his debut at golf’s most prestigious tournament, The Masters.
Little did he know what kind of a chokehold that tournament was going to have on him for the next 16 years.
McIlroy finished T20 that year, an impressive feat for such a young player with so little relative experience.
McIlroy returned to Europe after his first taste of Augusta, coming home to impress even more.
The rising star finished fifth at the BMW PGA Championship and 12th at the European Open in May.
He then played in his second major as a pro at the 2009 US Open, where he shot a final-round 68 to finish in a tie for 10th.
The signs were there that golf had found a new star, but nobody knew quite what was around the corner.
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2011 MASTERS MELTDOWN
After earning his stripes and becoming one of the best young players on tour, McIlroy returned to Augusta for his third tournament in 2011.
Aged just 21, McIlroy shot a bogey-free opening day 65 to become the youngest ever first-day leader at The Masters.
There was no stopping him there either, as he followed that up with a Friday 69 and a Saturday 70 to head into the final day with a FOUR SHOT lead.
McIlroy was on the cusp of joining Tiger Woods as only the second 21-year-old to win The Masters and earning himself a prestigious Green Jacket and a career-first major.
But disaster struck on Sunday at Augusta when the pressure appeared to get to the youngster and a horrifying eight-over round of 80 saw him plummet from solo leader to a T15 finish.
To this day it’s considered by many as one of the biggest collapses in the history of The Masters.
Rors cried in an emotional interview that day, saying: “I’m very disappointed at the minute and I’m sure I will be for the next few days, but I’ll get over it.
“I have to take the positives and the positives are I led this golf tournament for 63 holes”.
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BOUNCING BACK
When you’re 21-years-old and you’ve just crumbled in front of the entire golfing world, it’s fair to think you could shy away and step out of the spotlight.
But for McIlroy it was the opposite.
Instead of letting the Masters meltdown hinder him, he used it as fuel.
Less than two months later McIlroy found the best remedy for failure – success.
The Holywood hero put together a record-breaking eight-shot victory at the US Open to win his first ever major and prove the doubters wrong.
McIlroy led from day one and embraced his dad on the 18th green in a touching moment with the final day of the tournament played on Father’s Day.
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MAJOR SUCCESS
Everything just seemed to fall into place for McIlroy following that US Open victory as he went on a major tournament rampage in the years that followed.
The Ryder Cup star became a PGA Championship winner the following year in South Carolina.
At 23-years-old McIlroy was already world number one and a two-time major champion.
Then in 2014 he got his hands on the Claret Jug, winning The Open at Royal Liverpool, before earning a second PGA Championship the following month in Louisville, Kentucky.
McIlroy was 25-years-old and he had already won all three of the four majors and set himself up for what felt like an inevitable career Grand Slam.
The only thing left in his sights to earn a spot in that exclusive club of Grand Slam winners was victory at The Masters.
But it was never going to be easy.
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MASTERS VOODOO
For every year that followed The Masters felt like a weight that McIlroy had to get off his shoulders.
Pressure mounted each year as he failed to earn the elusive Green Jacket that would make him a golfing legend.
In the 10 years that followed up to 2024, McIlroy missed the cut twice, earned four top five finishes and even came a close second in The Masters.
His best effort being in the 2022 edition of the tournament, a tight second place finish that saw him leave Augusta without doing any interviews after an agonising wait to see if he would have a chance at a play-off against Scottie Scheffler.
It seemed as though The Masters was always going to evade him.
Away from Augusta National, McIlroy remained one of the best players in the world.
Despite not winning any of the other majors either, he racked up an impressive 19 PGA Tour wins in that time and became the second player in the history of the tour to eclipse $100MILLION of on-course career earnings.
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OFF THE COURSE DRAMA
Away from the course, McIlroy found himself caught up in a rollercoaster year for his marriage leading up to this year’s Masters.
In May of last year, McIlroy submitted a three-page document to a court in Florida detailing his request to file for divorce from wife of seven years Erica.
Things couldn’t have come at a worse time either, as McIlroy was gearing up to play in the US Open just two days after news broke.
The Ryder Cup hero was spotted practicing on the course without his wedding ring on and refused to answer any questions about his love life as he was bombarded by the media ahead of the major.
Just a matter of days after the announcement of Erica and McIlroy’s looming divorce, rumours started to swirl that the 29-time PGA Tour event winner had been caught in a romance with someone else.
The Daily Mail claimed that he may be in a blossoming relationship with CBS Sports presenter Amanda Balionis after an interview between the pair sparked rumours online.
However, those claims were rubbished when a close source to the two denied there was anything between them to US Weekly, and neither party commented on the conspiracy theories.
One month on from McIlroy’s divorce request and golf fans were left even more shocked than before when the Holywood star revealed than he and Erica had CALLED OFF their divorce.
Despite McIlroy’s initial filing claiming that their relationship was “irretrievably broken”, the pair managed to work through their differences and get their relationship back on track.
McIlroy and Erica reportedly held crisis talks in their £16million Florida home over the course of a month to try an figure things out.
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ENDING THE WAIT
Over 17 years after his first Masters and 11 years after winning his third major to tee up a Grand Slam, McIlroy FINALLY got what he had been waiting for.
The 29-time PGA Tour event winner hit four double bogeys in an unbelievable week of ups and downs that saw him need a play-off against Justin Rose to finally slip into a Green Jacket for the first time.
McIlroy broke down as soon as he saw his putt fall into the cup on 18 with a career’s worth of hard work, dedication and heartbreak culminating in one knee-wobbling 5ft birdie.
Augusta erupted in a way that it rarely has before with golf fans almost sharing the burden that McIlroy has been trying to shake for over a decade.
The child prodigy had finally done what he had set out to do, crediting the sacrifice his family made to help him achieve his dreams.
Fighting back the tears, he said: “There was a lot of pent up emotion that just came out on that 18th green. But a moment like that makes all the years and all the close calls worth it.
“I want to say hello to my Mum and Dad, they’re back home in Northern Ireland. They did [make a lot of sacrifices for me] and I can’t wait to see them next week and I can’t wait to celebrate this with them.”
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