Rory McIlroy reveals 10 words his caddie said to inspire Masters glory
Last updated:
Rory McIlroy would have been forgiven for struggling to compose himself after missing out on the Green Jacket in regulation play. But an inspired pep talk from Harry Diamond was all he needed for the playoff.
Rory McIlroy leans forward in his chair. A packed room of journalists falls deathly silent as the brand new Masters champion prepares his answer.
McIlroy’s voice cracks as he jokingly scolds the reporter who asked what it meant to have childhood friend Harry Diamond on his bag while, as he has by this point mentioned several times, made his “dreams come true”.
“I’ve known Harry since I was seven years old,” he manages to say. “I met him on the putting green at Holywood Golf Club. We’ve had so many good times together. He’s been like a big brother to me the whole way through my life.
“To be able to share this with him after all the close calls that we’ve had, all the crap that he’s had to take from people that don’t know anything about the game, this one is just as much his as it is mine.
“He’s a massive part of what I do, and I couldn’t think of anyone better to share it with than him.”
It’s not the first time McIlroy has choked back the tears since that putt dropped to defeat Justin Rose at the first playoff hole. During the Green Jacket presentation, there was a beautiful moment as he told his daughter, Poppy, that if there is anything she can learn from this, it’s that you should never give up on your dreams.
Back in the room, McIlroy is keen to highlight the pep talk Diamond gave him as the pair gathered themselves for extra holes.
“After scoring, Harry and I were walking to the golf cart to bring us back to the 18th tee, and he said to me, ‘Well, pal, we would have taken this on Monday morning.’ I was like, ‘Yeah, absolutely we would have.’ That was an easy reset.
“He basically said to me, ‘Look, you would have given your right arm to be in a playoff at the start of the week.’ So that sort of reframed it a little bit for me.
“I just kept telling myself, ‘Just make the same swing you made in regulation.’ I hit a great drive up there, and the rest is history.”
McIlroy said there “wasn’t much joy in that reaction” as he slumped to the ground after sinking a four-footer that confirmed he was not only – at last – a Masters champion, but a Grand Slam winner too.
“It was all relief,” he added. “It was all relief.
“I’ve been coming here 17 years, and it was a decade-plus of emotion that came out of me there.”
Not to mention the weight of expectations.
“It’s tough,” he adds. “You’ve had Jack [Nicklaus], Gary [Player], Tom [Watson], Tiger [Woods], you name it, come through here, and all say that I’ll win the Masters one day. That’s a hard load to carry. It really is.
“These are idols of mine. And it’s very flattering that they all come up here and they believe in me and they believe in my abilities to be able to win this tournament and achieve the Grand Slam.
“But it doesn’t help. I wish they didn’t say it.”
McIlroy smiles mischievously.
“What are we all going to talk about next year?” he jokes.
“I have dreamt about that moment for as long as I can remember. Watching Tiger here in 1997, winning his first Green Jacket, that inspired so many of my generation to want to emulate what he did.
“There were points in my career where I didn’t know if I would have this nice garment over my shoulders. I didn’t make it easy today. I was nervous. It was one of the toughest days I’ve ever had on the golf course. In a funny way, I feel like the double bogey at the first settled my nerves.
“Walking to the second tee, the first thing that popped into my head was Jon Rahm a couple years ago making double and going on to win. So at least my mind was in the right place, and was at least thinking positively about it.
“But it was just a complete roller coaster of a day. It almost felt more like a US Open than a Masters at some points just with how firm and fast the greens got.
“I’m really proud of how I bounced back from the double on 1 [and] from the double on 13. I don’t know if any Masters champions have had four doubles during the week, maybe I’m the first.”
He is.
And we wouldn’t have had it any other way.
-
Rory McIlroy said caddie Harry Diamond gave him the perfect pep talk ahead of their Masters playoff.
