Will the attainment of golfing immortality set Rory McIlroy free? Premium

Rory McIlroy's long journey to Masters victory and career Grand Slam showcases resilience and the pursuit of dreams.

Chasing dreams can be exhausting. Especially when they contain within them the promise of fulfilment or completion, and seem to remain just out of reach. For Rory McIlroy, the dream of winning the Masters on Augusta’s magical greens — and completing the career Grand Slam — had begun to assume the proportions of an anxiety-inducing nightmare. 

McIlroy knew exactly what a triumph would signify: the famed green jacket was all that separated him from golfing immortality, only tasted by Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods. But the closer he came to fulfilling his lifetime dream, the more it kept slipping away. In 2011 at the Masters, when McIlroy had the world at his feet, a four-shot lead and one arm in a green jacket, he contrived to throw it away with an 80 in the final round.

McIlroy continued to endure years of close calls, finishing in the top five on four occasions at Augusta. Finally, on his 17th attempt playing the Masters — the 11th time with the Grand Slam at stake — the long and winding road to golfing immortality led to salvation. The green jacket is a size 38, draped on the shoulders of the first European to win all four Majors.

The 35-year-old, who previously claimed the US Open (2011), the PGA Championship (2012, 2014) and the Open Championship (2014), earned his reward for stubbornly persevering.

“I started to wonder if it would ever be my time,” the Northern Irishman said. “I think the last 10 years coming here with the burden of the Grand Slam on my shoulders and trying to achieve that — yeah, I’m sort of wondering what we’re all going to talk about going into next year’s Masters. A moment like that makes all the years and all the close calls worth it.

“You have to be the eternal optimist in this game. I’ve been saying it until I’m blue in the face. I truly believe I’m better now than I was 10 years ago. It’s so hard to stay patient. It’s so hard to keep coming back every year, trying your best and not being able to get it done. It’s the best day of my golfing life. I’m very proud of myself for never giving up and always fighting back.”

Last Sunday at Augusta felt like a microcosm of McIlroy’s last 11 years at the Majors, blunders mixed in with sheer brilliance. What could have been a coronation along the back nine turned into a heart-racing, lead-changing, jaw-dropping finish at golf’s greatest theatre.