Grodence Here. It is particularly compelling and memorable in sports when a team or an athlete faces a long period of choking, collapsing under pressure, or falling just short time and time again only to one day overcome those demons and win that desired championship.  Such is the tale of the Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, and the LA Lakers facing the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals¹.  Such a tale also applies to Rory McIlroy.

McIlroy memorably fell apart at the end of the U.S Open last year by bogeying 3 out of the last four holes, with the last two involving missed short putts.  But I have been an avid Golf fan for the last 6-7 years and have seen McIlroy be in contention numerous times in golf’s 4 Major’s over that span, including top 10 finishes in seven of the 8 Major championships played between 2022-23.

One could point to his shortcomings on golf’s biggest stage and conclude that he couldn’t win golf tournaments, but that is far from true.  He has won 4 Major Championships and has been one of the most consistent winners in professional golf over the course of his career.  He entered this year’s Masters with 28 PGA tour wins and 43 wins worldwide.  In fact, since he won his 4^th Major, the 2014 PGA Championship, he has won almost every type of golf competition except a Major.  Since 2014 he has:

1. Won the unofficial “Fifth Major” the Players Championship twice. 
2. Become the only player to win the PGA’s season ending championship, the Fed-Ex Cup 3 times. 
3. Won the Canadian, Scottish, and Irish Open’s.
4. Won the DP (Formerly European Tour) Championship for the second and third time.
5. Has won at least one professional golf tournament 6 out of the last 7 years.  

All his success in non-Majors has made his shortcomings in Major’s even more glaring.  It has also made him more interesting than the athlete who endures a long dry spell before returning to the winner’s circle (though that is compelling in its own right).  Each time McIlroy fell short, it made me root for him all the harder.  It didn’t matter whether it was the Masters, the U.S Open, the PGA Championship, or The Open.  I just wanted him to win one of the Majors.

Because of what I have just written, Rory McIlroy is one of my favorite golfers, and I am far from alone in that regard.  He always gets the biggest crowds of people following him, something I can personally attest to when I went to Connecticut’s PGA Tour event, the Travelers in 2022.  Throughout my time watching golf on T.V, I have learned how hard it is to win in professional golf.  As was seen in this year’s Masters, a golfer could birdie a hole to lead by three shots only for that lead to vanish in a blink of an eye, and it is a difficult feat to play 4 great rounds of golf on that level.  You could shoot 7 under Par one round and shoot 2 over Par the next day.  All of this makes McIlroy’s consistent victories even more impressive.

There is a more personal reason that I love McIlroy, and it is that we are almost the same age.  He is just 12 days older than me, being born on May 4th, which makes me jokingly compare my life to his.  I am 35 years old, and I am personal friends with exactly zero celebrities, while he is 35 years old, and probably has Tiger Woods number on speed dial!  Congratulations Rory McIlroy, on finally, finally translating his success in winning another Major.  The fact that he has now completed the career Grand Slam, by winning all four Golf Majors, is just Icing on the cake.  God Bless You Rory McIlroy.  That was a hell of a win, and I hope that you will continue to win many more events, including Major’s in the years to come.

1. Having lost to the Celtics in the NBA finals 8 times before defeating them in 1985. ↩︎