The major bus that Rory McIlroy has been awaiting for eleven years has arrived. It has drawn up, admittedly belching a bit of smoke and possibly leaking some oil, but it’s here. It’s not a modern, luxury coach. It’s undoubtedly noisy, probably diesel and certainly uncomfortable and when the doors open no smooth, automated steps come down to assist would-be boarders. So, right to the end Rory has had to fight with every fibre of his being and he has dragged himself on board by the very tips of his fingernails, battered, bleeding, spent…..but victorious.
We his supporters – millions of us – are beyond exhausted. We have swithered hither and thither in our emotions from hope, awe, certainty, despair, fury, resignation and back to hope again – and that’s not just this week, but in this last decade-plus when our hero was seemingly at a bus stop where the service had been discontinued.
Thing is, no one told Rory it was discontinued so he waited and waited, not necessarily with patience, but with the eternal optimism he deems one of the most important qualities a golfer can possess. And we had no option but to wait with him.
Golf is cruel though, and right at this historic moment in our game, another class act, Justin Rose, was forced to stand by and endure another gut-wrenching personal disappointment. If he’d been up against anyone else in the world apart from Rory I would have wanted him to win. I hope Justin can find more pride in this golden autumn of his career than disappointment.Patricia (sister) has already declared the dawning of a new era – no, not necessarily a tsunami of major titles heading McIlroy’s way (though that is a very real possibility) – but something a tad more mundane. Apparently AFAs are here and to be enjoyed by us all. These are “Angst-Free Aprils,” set to commence in 2026 and last for the foreseeable. How lovely to have that to look forward to, our very own version of a green jacket and a career grand slam.

Validation for the two childhood friends as Rory and Harry Diamond, his caddie, share one of sport’s greatest achievements. [gannett-cdn.com]
Lunch at The Bear’s Club with six-time Masters champion Jack Nicklaus was another part of the preparation. Rory outlined to the great man exactly how he was intending to tackle the course and which strategies he would employ for each hole for the myriad of pin positions he would face during the week. Nicklaus said he had little to add to the Irishman’s meticulous planning. How’s that for positive reinforcement and validation? But there’s planning and there’s doing and often the two are poles apart.
Earlier this week I started to scroll back through various WhatsApp exchanges with friends during the long, tortuous hours of watching. Starting with Rory’s Thursday doubling of the 15th they read as follows: sickening; wow all round; just opening another bottle of red; everyone in Ireland is on the lash (that was from an Irish friend after Rory opened with six consecutive 3s on Saturday); you still watching?; yes, Rory!!!; eagle coming up; TORTURE!; still feel sick; am exhausted; we’ve told B to stop drinking as he’ll be driving us to A&E; the awful thing is not wanting Justin to win.
Obviously I have omitted some of the more colourful explosions of emotions, but you get the drift. Nothing, absolutely nothing about this Masters watch was comfortable, the result in doubt till the very last gasp. When Rory was four ahead after the 11th and just when we thought we might have a reasonably enjoyable last hour or so he dumps a wedge in the water at the 13th and takes seven. Then he drops another on the 14th.
A sensational second at the 15th fails to yield an eagle and par, birdie at the next two leave him with “only” having to make a four from the centre of the last fairway, wedge in hand. Cue fanning it into the bunker on the right and more hyperventilating from his supporters after his putt for destiny doesn’t even hit the hole.
But, you know what, that birdie on the play-off hole exonerates us from having to think about all those wobbles down the stretch. Who cares about those now? We can marvel over the brilliance we witnessed, the resilience, the talent, the effort. If the result had been different, however, we would be picking apart every swing, every nuance, every bit of body language and asking why he’d fallen short…..again? Could Rory have come back from another heart-wrenching failure? Thankfully, we’ll never know.It just goes to spotlight the knife-edged existence you inhabit when playing Augusta National and trying to win the Masters. How can we even begin to imagine what that is really like? And as for having the career grand slam on the line……that is another level altogether.

I hope Rory takes a leaf out of Shane Lowry’s book and really, really takes time to enjoy this historic victory. [Chris Condon – Augusta National]
It is Ireland after all.