Augusta, Georgia – Four miles west of Augusta National Golf Club in the town forest mountain area, the colonial revival mixed with the brick Tudors and settled at a garden party at dusk. It’s the night before the 2025 Masters Championship, where Nick Faldo and Ben Crenshaw sat on the back porch, this time here, a typical evening party here. Small, exclusive, with deep cargo. The fireside chat between the two master winners was seen as the highlight of the night. Faldo and Crenshaw play their own roles, play hits, and then tell a story.
Then the conversation turned to Rory McIlroy. The voice became desperate.
Crenshaw sounds like a pastor, begging everyone to keep their faith. Now 73, with a sparse white haired head, the two-time Masters champion (1984, 1995) looks as trustworthy as anyone. So when Crenshaw said that no one in the world played golf than McIlroy, everyone nodded. He said it was a year. this Must be one year. Crenshaw predicts McIlroy will win his first Masters this week.
Faldo agreed. The six-time main champion won three times at Augusta – 1989, 1990, 1996 – said McIlroy has always been a good fit for the course. Not only did Faldo pick McIlroy this week, but he also said he would take root for him. Then sighed. Faldo wanted to know which version of McIlroy would appear in Augusta. Will it be a happy version? Analytical version? Separated version? It sounds like Faldo is describing a man in a mirror. All the McIlroy people we know look at each other.
The next morning, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson and Gary players. ‘Eighteen masters between em. The honorary starter of the tournament put on a green jacket and entered the media center at the opening.
The conversation turned to Rory McIlroy again.
“I think Rory McIlroy will win the Masters this year, and I hope he does that because it will give golf an assistant to another Grand Slam title,” the player said. “His best on the golf course and. go out. question. He is the most suitable golfer. His lift is 400 pounds! ”
Watson followed closely behind. In his steady Midwest tone: “I only have one intuition…Rorry is the guy to win this week. That’s… the bottom line. It’s my intuition.”
Then Jack. “I think Rory won.”
This has been McIlroy’s place in the most unique space in golf for a long time. He is a teenage prodigy who fulfills all his infinite talents in a brunette of curly brunette and success levels, which shows that he doesn’t know anyone. What is his future? This is a conclusion. Nicklaus once said a 25-year-old McIlroy could win 15 or 20 majors. Friend and fellow Ulsterman Graeme McDowell retorted that McIlroy would win “as much professional as he wanted.”
Everyone always responded with the same response at the time. Good luck, kid. Tongue. This kid is so good that he doesn’t need luck.
But the child became a 35-year-old man. A man who becomes a father. A person who finds that both sides become gray first. A person who has never won all of these professions actually does need a little luck.
All of this – That’s why the corner was around late Sunday afternoon, crossing Augusta’s 18th green fan tunnel, walking without shadows despite the shallow sun. Arms are stretched out, eyes are wellbore, chest is hit. Catholic, your name is Rory. The old guy won the Masters of 2025 with the greatest patents by overcoming a bunch of demons and eventually taking his place in history. Justin Rose made the playoffs. This requires historical disasters and possible disasters. All the imaginable disappointing flashbacks make every imaginable flashback. But it happened.
McIlroy bent her knees as low as possible after Sunday’s final putt. He pressed his forehead against the 18th green, pulled up a few inches and released a shout from 2025 at Augusta to 2011. From Pinehurst to Los Angeles to St Andrews. From his Florida house to his home in Northern Ireland.
Do you want to talk about stress?
Listen to that shouting.
“There isn’t much joy in this reaction,” McIlroy said Sunday night. “It’s all a sigh of relief.”
Rory McIlroy finally got his green coat. (Andrew Reddington/Getty Image)
We’ve always wanted to understand the pressures of young Rory McIlroy and old Rory McIlroy. It says the volume. The documentary has been recorded about it. The podcast empire has been built on it.
But no one knows the truth. It’s one thing to put pressure on yourself. Feeling the pressure from fans and media is one thing. It’s another thing to stretch out your arms and take the pressure given to you by every great person in front of you. This is the task McIlroy has been taking on for a long time, and in fact, how does one weigh history?
Earlier this week, McIlroy met with a reporter after opening 72 72 72 with mines and was asked about comments from Nicklaus, the player and Watson. You can see the glittering eyes. His head rested on his hand, pulling his face a little along his palm. He had a hard time deflecting the room and had to hide. “They’re getting older,” he said with a smile.
Sunday is here and McIlroy is ready to chat.
Do you want to talk about stress?
“You have Jack, Gary, Tom, Tiger, you said, all here, and everyone said I’ll win the Masters one day.” McIlroy nodded, wanting to meet every note of this. “It’s hard to bear. It’s true.
“You know, these are my idols, and…see, they’re all here, they believe me, they believe in the ability to win this game, which is very likable, and you know, the Grand Slam and all of that.
“But that doesn’t help, you know?”
After so many years, this man’s upright person is a bit amazing. McIlroy won his fourth Grand Slam (the PGA Championship in Valhalla in 2014). When he won his fourth, he was only one month older than Nicklaus. He won fourth place only nine months older than Woods.
It’s hard to remember now, but it was once assumed that McIlroy would not only win in the two similar clips, but like them, would be the one who masked another generation of professionals. Around 2010-2011, as Woods walked deeply into knees as he flexed his knees during public awkwardness, endless injuries and ruptured swing, the doors opened to players in desperate need of big games. A 41-year-old Phil Mickelson won the 2010 Masters. McDowell then became the first European to win the U.S. Open since 1970. Martin Kaymer won the PGA title. Charl Schwartzel asked for the Master of 2011. Suddenly, the sport has something similar to the affordable.
But then it was McIlroy. A prodigy from Hawleywood, Jr., in Northern Ireland County, was appointed to the 2010 European Ryder Cup team at the age of 21. Then shaking in Augusta, swinging in Augusta in a 65-69-70 round before showing off the infamous final round in the 2011 Masters. But then it happened: In Congress, the U.S. Open eight-stroke wins. Nowhere to go.
Since then, McIlroy’s entire adult life – personal and every moment professionally – has been combed, covered and classified.
McIlroy is considered the next one, but instead starred in the longest second scene. From 2015 to 2024, the 21 Grand Slams with the most players he has not won in 10 years was the most players ever. From 2020 to the beginning of this week, he has the best weekend score, winning the standard title in any player’s main championship game. He did it 19 times in some way.
Meanwhile, McIlroy should stand while waiting. No one cares if McIlroy is full of FedEx Cup points throughout the room, and as long as his last big win stays in 2014’s Amber, it doesn’t matter much.
Without Master Victory, McIlroy will always be limited to that never-limited space. Lee Trevino, Johnny Miller, Greg Norman, Ernie Els, Nick Price, Brooks Koepka and others are all well known.
Without the Master’s victory, he will always be seen from the outside of the Grand Slam. It will remain Nicklaus, Woods, Players, Ben Hogan and Gene Sarason. A seat was pushed out from the table but was still empty.
It only makes things worse every year.
Do you want to talk about stress?
Before the 2023 Masters, Woods almost guarantees McIlroy will win at Augusta soon or later.
“He will,” Woods said. “It’s just a matter of time. Rory has talent. He has the game. He has all the tools to win here.”
Arriving at Augusta the same week, the question was inevitable, so McIlroy answered this. “I feel like a good player, if not a better player, like the last time I won a big championship,” he said. “So I feel good about it.”
He then shot 72 and 77 from the field and missed the cuts.
On Sunday, the pressure was almost outstripping Rory McIlroy. (Andrew Reddington/Getty Image)
McIlroy’s talent has always been his own. Therefore, he also carries this burden.
Because sometimes it’s as uncomfortable as Sunday, every moment feels so appropriate now. McIlroy started on the day Bryson DeChambeau opposes, a human Seibuke-like man who can hit the ball and attracts the crowd. McIlroy turned the opening two-shot lead into a single-ball deficit in just 33 minutes. Two holes and 26 minutes later, McIlroy was brought back to the lead by a stroke somehow. Then use four rods. Then five.
For a moment, it seems that Augusta might not have summoned the dark angels before the end of the day.
Instead, perhaps McIlroy’s worst shooting percentage in his career was ahead of No. 13, falling into the water. His fourth bogey this week.
Do you want to talk about stress?
Until this week, no one won the Masters with four double bogeys. How could this happen? Augusta spins in place, so fast, so slow, spins all at once. Flashing instantly.
At 5:38 pm, McIlroy and Rose were inexplicably tied to the rankings. At 5:51, the wind rose. At 5:57, a three-way tie including LudvigÅberg. At 6:10, perhaps the greatest 7 iron of McIlroy’s life, leading to the birdie at the age of 15. At 6:14, Rose hit a 20-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole. At 6:53, missed 18-year-old McIlroy Par, and if things were to say otherwise, that would last forever.
But, a hub in history.
McIlroy birded in the first playoff hole. Ross didn’t.
Exhale strong enough to use up everything.
“The best day I’ve ever played golf,” McIlroy later played Sunday. “I am proud of never giving up. I am proud of how I keep coming back, dusty rather than letting disappointment really attract me.”
On the other side of that fan tunnel, looking like Andy Dufresne of Ireland, McIlroy eventually runs out of people’s hugs. He stopped in place and saw everything for the first time, like he realized where he was and what had just happened.
McIlroy put down his pants and let everyone know, “Okay, I’m going to buy a green coat” and then turned to the clubhouse. There are many people waiting for him.
(Top photo: Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
