Rory McIlroy won the Masters. It is an unbelievable sentence. The golfing world is still astounded that we have said it out loud in consecutive years now.
A popular take in the aftermath of the 90th edition of the Masters (this most recent one) is that Rory would not have been able to win it without first capturing the 89th. The experience from winning at Augusta clearly mattered to Rory, but so did the psychological freedom that came from finally ridding himself of the burden associated with doing so.
Rory spoke openly all last week about how he was more comfortable on the grounds at Augusta National than he ever had been. Following Saturday’s round specifically where he lost the 6-shot lead he began the day with, he noted that he would remember on Sunday that he was a Masters Champion. His point, not to speak for him, was that he would walk with confidence in knowing he had already climbed the mountain ahead of him.
He also knew the terrain very well.
The debate around Rory’s Masters prep is absurd
It is well understood that there are scores of traditions associated with the Masters. One of the more notables here is that the tournament is played at Augusta National on an annual basis.
Rory, who last played competitively before Augusta at Bay Hill where he withdrew, winning the tournament for a second straight year has seemingly taken things even more mainstream than they have been becoming as of late. Golf is having a a boom and more people are learning of specifics involved with it.
It is for these reasons that what he said on Sunday evening after defending his title that has the rest of the world acting silly.
McIlroy noted that he prepared quite diligently for the Masters. At one point throughout the weekend he even noted that there were instances where he would drop his daughter off at school, make it to Augusta for a round, and be back home in the same day.
For some reason… the idea that Rory prepared for the Masters by practicing on the grounds has become a flashpoint for people.
Part of the issue here is likely the lore associated with the Masters. It seems people (incorrectly) assumed that Rory had some special privilege as a previous winner. That is not the case.
Anyone involved in the Masters had the ability to practice on the grounds as much as he did. This was noted in detail by a post from Michael Kim on X (shout out to him for some much-needed context).
We can (hopefully) put to bed the idea that Rory had some inside track that his competitors did not. It is obviously true that he was not in Houston or San Antonio participating in the PGA Tour events that led up to the Masters the way that others were, but that is all a part of his own schedule and preparations as all players are able to adjust to their own rhythms.
What’s more is even if we step past the fact that no rules were broken and no lines were crossed… is it not awesome that Rory put so much time and effort into winning the Masters?
As noted the event has reached a level of fanfare that is only superseded by the Super Bowl now. It is an epic thing. Beyond epic. We revere it in such esteem for reasons that we all share or are unique to us individually, but we all recognize that it is something beyond the normal realm in sports or life at large.
Rory treated it that way. And he did so after already taming it. He gave the event its proper respect and his entire self in the name of tasting the sweetness that he so clearly did not want to ever let go of. That is so cool.
So often in sports things are disillusioned by the realities of life. Sports are a profession for so many and the level of care is not the same between athletes and fans. That isn’t to blame anyone at all, but that is just the way it goes.
Rory approached the Masters the way we as fans do. He obsessed over it the way that people who apply for the lottery every year do, or the people who filmed merch haul videos do, or the way that anyone who has their own “Masters” around the same time of year with their local golfing group does. He was one of us out there.
Do not let anyone convince you that this is a thing. It is silly. At absolute best.
