AUGUSTA, Ga. — Jay Monahan was working the lawn. A handshake here. A hug there. He laughed with Guy Killings, the DP World Tour commish. He patted the shoulder of a green-jacketed Augusta National member. Minutes earlier, the face of the league Monahan heads had hit his first ball of the Masters’ final round as part of the final pairing. The sky and the mood were aligned: Both were sunny.
As were the vibes all around the yard. Rory McIlroy has a way of doing that for his folks, of which there are countless. This was their day. Their man, holding a two-shot advantage with 18 holes left on the clock, was on the cusp of winning his first major since 2014. Their man was on the brink of winning his first Masters. Their man was four or so hours away from completing the career Grand Slam.
Actually, we need rewrite.
Their man, holding a two-shot advantage with 18 holes left on the clock, was on the cusp of winning his first major since 2014, after many mishits and missed putts. Their man was on the brink of winning his first Masters, after many also-rans and see-you-next-years. Their man was four or so hours away from completing the career Grand Slam, after years of whiffing.
McIlroy is a curious character that way, as his story creates a funky polarity. How can someone so blessed be so damned cursed? To his faithful, it keeps Pepto-Bismol in business. His success is sublime. And his defeats are like a swift kick to the golf bag.
But why? He’s certainly not alone. But the dynamic somehow seems one of one.
I asked Monahan, as McIlroy was either going to reward the faithful, or again rob them blind.
“I just think because it’s one of his superpowers and one of the things fans gravitate to is his transparency,” the PGA Tour commissioner said, “and his career has been something that people have had the opportunity to experience along the way. He’s been pretty forthright as it relates to his feelings. There are highs and there are lows, and he’s demonstrated a vulnerability that is unique and that people can relate to. To do that as a great champion is pretty unique.”
How unique?
“I think that’s something you’re probably seeing less of.”
About 400 yards away, McIlroy three-putted the 1st green, and his lead was gone via a double bogey.
On 2, he trailed by a shot. On 3, he led again, after a birdie and a Bryson DeChambeau bogey. After 4, he led by three, after another birdie-bogey exchange. “This is sick,” one patron shouted. “Come on, Rory, Grand Slam, baby,” another cried.
For the 40 or thousand fans here, and the 25k or so tracking McIlroy, this was going to be extreme.
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But again, bogeys come and birdies go. Why did this run feel so fatiguing? Why does McIlroy?
“For me, I’m Irish descent,” said Will of Las Vegas, along the 5th fairway. “So for me, it’s kind of a DNA thing. But, also, it’s the elusive fourth major for him. And I’m a golf nut, so I just want him to get the green jacket. He’s earned the right. And then he stood up for the PGA Tour.
“And that means a lot for me.”
After nine, after 63 of 72 holes, McIlroy was up four.
Finally. Or, maybe at this point, seemingly never, should he fail.
But again, leads are precarious. Why did this feel so haunting? Why does McIlroy?
“I think since Tiger has fallen off from his heights, he’s just captured the imagination of golfers like no other golfer,” said George of England via Jamaica. “And also, he’s really personable. I can relate to him. I don’t know him, and I’m not Irish. But for a boy born in Jamaica, living now in England who found golf after I stopped playing football, he’s appeared to be across cultures.
“And because he shows emotion; he wears it on his sleeve. He lets you know as a fan how he feels when he plays, when the man doesn’t play well. And, for all those reasons, I think he deserves to finish his career without people telling him about what happened at the Masters before. So for all those reasons, I think that’s the reason why it’s going to feel so low because we have been here as fans so often, you know.
“He has to win and shut people up.”
McIlroy birdied 10, his previous house of horrors, after hitting near a house in 2011, when he was seemingly then on his way to winning.
Eight more holes.
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And eight more holes?!
“I think with how close that he’s been and how so many people are invested in him and the expectations that he’s had,” said Paul of Savannah, Ga., “he’s like Icarus who almost touched the sun. Got too close to the sun too early in his career. Came falling back to Earth and has been trying to resurrect himself back to that status.
“And we are all along for that ride. And so we’re riding with him, and we just wanna see him achieve it.”
“I think we grew up with Rory,” said Paul’s friend, Patrick, also of Savannah, “and we’ve seen him rise to astronomical heights. He had all of these lofty expectations, unfairly or otherwise. And the fact that he struggled so much and been so close so many times, coupled with the fact that I think he knows deep down that he’s been the best player in the world every year — so to see him do that, to struggle, to wear his heart on his sleeve, I think any person can relate to that.
“It’ll be cathartic for everyone, too, to see him win. It’s like a release of like, thank god, that it’s happened.”
And then came a “good lord.”
Bogey on 11, and the lead shrunk. Double on 13 — after a short wedge into Rae’s Creek, a near-incomprehensible mistake — and a surging Justin Rose soon tied him. “Rory is the biggest choke,” one patron said to the right of the 13th fairway. Another bogey on 14, and the lead was gone. “If he doesn’t do it this year, he never will,” one patron said to the left of the 14th green.
But four holes remained.
And only four.
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“I think people would be higher than high because it’s the pure elation after what he’s gone through after all of the near-misses the past few years,” said Sawyer of West Palm Beach, Fla. “Especially at last year’s U.S. Open. I think it’s still seared in everyone’s memory. So this would be the true turnaround, if you will.
“And to lose, though — it feels like nothing could have been worse than a loss at the U.S. Open. And now everyone’s heart would pop.”
Hold on, McIlroy friends.
He birdied the par-5 15th and now re-led by a shot, though an eagle putt looked nervy. “I knew it, I knew it,” one patron screamed. On 16, McIlroy was tied again, after a Rose birdie ahead — but on 17, McIlroy re-took the lead after a stunning approach to a few feet. “You’re going to look so good in green, Rory,” one patron bellowed.
One more hole.
And. One. More. Hole.
There, McIlroy bogeyed after hitting his second into a right greenside bunker. “Holy sh*t, he missed it,” cried a patron after his 6-footer for par breezed past the hole on the left side.
Playoff.
Why is this really, truly going to be either the sublime, or the swift kick?
“Why is that?” said a patron behind the 18th green. “Because he’s won so much, and he’s a great champion, but he’s choked a lot too. So you’re fearful of the choke that’s coming.”
And then it didn’t.
On 18, drive down the chute. Iron to the middle of the green, where it rolled back to 4 feet. Birdie putt in the hole.
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Winner.
Winner?
Winner!
His arms went up. The patrons arms’ went up. “The golf gods have spoken,” one said.
How you feeling, Mark of London?
“Well, Rory never does anything other than a roller coaster ride,” he said near 18.
“So you never get the joy of just something being plain and simple. It’s gotta be earned, not just by him, but by the crowd. So you feel every emotion going through. So great that he won. We’re delighted with it.
“But let’s make it easier next time.”
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