Holding my breath waiting to see if McIlroy would finally make a two-foot putt for a win, I realized that maybe I’m too sensitive to watch sports. Sitting at my laptop, I cried for Rory McIlroy’s Masters win, not just because of the green jacket, but because he had defeated something more daunting than the Augusta National’s course. Watching sports games unfold has always come with a pit in my stomach. Whether I’m cheering for a team or just walk into the game not knowing anything, somehow I end up emotionally invested in both teams. This has led to feeling sad for the team that ultimately loses, and the feeling was notably clear following the 49ers’ loss to the Chiefs in the 2024 Super Bowl. Watching the confetti rain down, b-roll of devastated players coming so close to a win made me reflect on the nature of sports. Obviously, there is going to be a winner and a loser, and they all put immense effort and work in, but we should celebrate the winner with confetti, or better yet, a green jacket.
After four days of grueling golf and an ever-changing leaderboard — especially on the last day — only when it was over could I finally breathe normally. Growing up around the game of golf and spending my summers working on a course, there is something about the game that brings me a sense of peace. Only…not necessarily when I’m playing it. Feeling homesick and wanting to have something to talk about with my dad other than my classes, I had the Masters on as I walked around campus or lay in the sun.
From the b-roll of the picturesque, timeless course, to the theme music, the whispering voices of the commentators, the roaring reactions of an excited crowd, and the sound of the golf club swinging, there wasn’t a moment that wasn’t beautiful. Well, except for poorly hit shots, the players I was rooting for were constantly trading places on the leaderboard, and more than a few questionable outfits. However, these aspects all led to the moment when on the first hole of a sudden death playoff, McIlroy sank a less than two-foot putt to win his first Masters Tournament and complete his career Grand Slam.
For those unfamiliar with golf, it may seem as though a less than two-foot putt shouldn’t be that large of a feat. However, golf is a game played as much, if not more, in your head than on the course. Every hole and course is different and can change every day, and other than having a caddy, whose job is to provide yardages, club recommendations, provide honest feedback, and boost morale, golf, for the most part, is an individual sport. When the club is in the player’s hands, it’s ultimately up to them how the round goes. Having the pressure of having completed three of the four tournaments necessary for a career Grand Slam, McIlroy was not only battling the pressure of this tournament, but trying to use wins prior to this tournament as a motivator, and not a weight. In interviews, he expressed how important it was for him to stay in his own space during this tournament and not worry about the other players in the game.
To break down the events of The Masters and some other key aspects leading up to McIlroy’s win, it would be beneficial to define a few key terms and rules of golf.
There are 18 holes on a golf course, and completing them makes up a “round of golf.” This Masters Tournament began with 95 players, but prior to the tournament, Vijay Singh withdrew due to injury, and Tiger Woods still is unable to play following his Achilles surgery in March. Over four days of the Masters tournament, golfers played 18 holes each day, but as the tournament unfolded, cuts were made. These cuts, like other cuts in tournaments, are dependent on the golfer’s score. The easiest way to understand the scoring of golf is to essentially understand that the goal of golf is to play less golf. To break that idea down further, the lower your score, the better you’re doing.
To earn a lower score, you have to shoot what’s called “under par.” “Par” is the number of strokes that have been assigned to a given hole. To put you amid Augusta National Golf Course — the course in Augusta, Georgia, where The Masters has been held for 89 years, the entirety of its duration since beginning in 1934 — you’re on the 16th hole. This hole, from the black tee markers– the furthest place you can hit your first shot — is 170 yards to the hole. This makes it one of the shortest holes on the course, making it a Par 3. Meaning you have 3 times to hit the golf ball and make it in the hole, and not let your strokes affect your score.
Imagine you’re one of the 40-year-old men on the 16th hole, and you pick up one of your iron clubs, which hits your ball less distance than your driver, but more than one of the clubs you would use to hit your golf ball out of the bunker next to the green with. You hit, and the crowd goes crazy because you have landed your ball on the green, and you are three feet away from the hole! With pride and excitement, you walk over to the hole and make your putt. This means you are one under par, or you just got a “birdie.” This -1 is added to your score, allowing you to move up on the leaderboard.
If you had made a hole-in-one, that would be two strokes under par, meaning you got an eagle. If off the tee box, you had hit the ball to the side of the green and needed three more strokes to make it into the hole, that means you got a “bogey,” or one over par, four strokes. The name bogey stays the same, but as you increase the number of strokes over par, it becomes double bogey, triple bogey, until you get to a point where you decide to get off the golf course because you need some time on the practice range.
Every Masters Tournament and every golf tournament has significance. For this tournament, it gave McIlroy another opportunity to complete a Grand Slam. In golf, a Grand Slam is when a golfer wins all four major tournaments: The Masters, The British Open Championship, The PGA Championship, and the U.S. Open. Five golfers have completed a Grand Slam prior to McIlroy: Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan. Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, and Tiger Woods. McIlroy, however, is the first Irish player and first European player to complete this feat.
Spanning a career of 18 years, McIlroy has won 28 events on the PGA Tour in addition to competing in the Olympics. This career of success only increased the pressure as he headed into this year’s tournament, a green jacket just out of reach. Additionally, last year and prior to this tournament, Rory lost to Bryson DeChambeau in the 2024 U.S. Open. Having dropped on the leaderboard after missing two short putts on the last holes, he waited anxiously to see if he would have the opportunity to play DeChambeau in a sudden-death playoff. However, he walked away defeated after DeChambeau chipped and putted to win the tournament. Despite his comment to the press being that he was going to remain in his own space during the tournament and not look at the leaderboard, it did not stop them from asking if DeChambeau had anything to do with his anxiety going into the final round of the tournament, where they were paired together.
As they began moving through the course, my heart rose to my throat and dropped to my stomach as I watched. However, it wasn’t easy just to watch them because, as many players were competing simultaneously, the camera wasn’t always immediately on who was rising quickly on the leaderboard. DeChambeau commented later that he felt his game slipping as greens became more firm — making them faster — and causing him to miss putts. Rory struggled separately, hitting the creek on the 13th hole, making double bogey, and missing his final putt to remain -12. A missed putt on the 18th hole— short putts being a frequent issue for McIlroy– is what ultimately led to his playoff with Justin Rose, who had just previously made his putt on 18.
This was it, a sudden-death playoff. It was also one of the worst aspects of watching sports — wanting everyone to win. Wanting them to check in the back to see if they had two jackets, but also knowing that wasn’t possible, made me nauseous. As McIlroy and Rose walked to the tee box, in my heart, I wanted this win so badly for McIlroy. Watching a player so talented grapple with the mental struggle he has and being so close, I felt that he deserved the win. Luckily, the pain of waiting was quickly over when on the first hole of the playoff, McIlroy made his putt. He has finally done it. Pushing aside the fear and anxiety, he has finally received a Masters victory.
As he embraced his family, fellow Irish golfer Shane Lowry, and supporters, I was now fully in tears. The commentators replaying his reaction to making his putt said that it was the most authentic reaction. I don’t think there’s any other way to put it. Waiting years to complete this accomplishment, his reaction was nothing short of relief and joy. He finally conquered the part of his mind that made him say, “I started to wonder if it would ever be my time.” Walking to his interview and leaving his friends, he simply said, “I gotta go get a green jacket.”
Golf is the only sport that when I tell people I watch, they are genuinely shocked at. As an American, most people either watch football or accept the fact that the sport draws an audience. Oh, you watch hockey, I do too, or I love basketball, are also pretty routine reactions. However, people who don’t watch or play golf and haven’t given it a chance don’t understand just how much of a difficult sport it is. Watching without any knowledge, it might just seem like it’s boring, and why can’t they just hit the ball exactly where they want, and why does it take so long? It’s because the game isn’t just a physical sport like football is.
Golf isn’t a sport where you can run a predefined play, go exactly where you want, or exactly replicate what you did on the practice range. Courses aren’t like fields, and you don’t have other teammates, other than your caddy, and if you’re playing in a pair with another partner, to rely on their talent or stability. Every course is different, and you can end up pretty much anywhere, forcing you to adapt. As athletes or as people, we always wonder how we could do better, what we could have done differently, and sometimes that part of our mind can grow too loud. Rory McIlroy didn’t win just because he got a green jacket and his Grand Slam. McIlroy won because he displayed that we can overcome the thoughts that sometimes get too loud and seem to stop us, allowing us to achieve our dreams that seem just out of reach.