Georgie Bingham: Sheffler was sublime but Rory is the story
Rory McIlroy and caddie Harry Diamond celebrate after chipping in for birdie from the bunker on the 18th green of his final round at The Masters. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
While Cam Smith’s Amen Corner nightmare saw a two horse race become a Masters parade for superb Scottie Scheffler, I was doing cartwheels over Rory McIlroy’s joyous return to the show. I wasn’t alone I suspect.
We’ve watched him grow up painfully over the last few years but last night’s round of 64 was not just about brilliant golf. His child-like exuberance for the game we’ve seen him tormented by so many times since his last Major was the win for me. At times in the last 8 years we’ve seen him triumph, but those victories - sometimes too few and far between - have been greeted with relief at a return to the winners circle (remember his final round 68 with last-hole-scare at Wells Fargo last year as an example?) and last night I saw a Rory who was alive, invigorated.
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland and Collin Morikawa acknowledge the fans as they walk off the 18th green after finishing their round during the final round of the Masters. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
McIlroy has had to do a lot of growing and some of it publicly, but I noticed a change last year and it was dramatic. It came in little snippets. His attitude has gone from obstinate and defensive (over both his form and his golfing decisions, commercial and personal) to more honest. He’s not afraid to speak out for players, for golf, for the game. His post Ryder Cup interviews were raw and touching but it was his interview post his CJ Cup win in 2021 that I look back to as his turning point. I even remember what he said word for word. After shooting 62 to win, McIlroy said “It was a struggle for me to figure out how to make this work. I realised that I am enough.” I remember tweeting about it as his hallelujah moment.
It took me until I was 43 to learn that I am enough. This revelation is life changing. After years of comparing myself to others, the understanding that you are enough meant that I started living instead of existing. Nothing is more important ESPECIALLY in golf. You have to take on the course, to hold your nerve and beat your rivals, but ultimately you’re taking on yourself.
“He’s not afraid to speak out for players, for golf, for the game.”
Rory has worked this out, climbed into the driver’s seat and buckled the hell up for the ride. As someone who’s been through this, I can’t tell you how much of a change it made for me to learn that “I am enough” and I think it’s done the same for him. Critics will point out that Rory has a propensity for final round charges when nothing is riding on it but I feel like last night we got one of our favourite golfers back and I hope he proves me right with a return to the Major winners circle this season. We shall see.
Georgie Bingham, broadcaster and journalist, writes a bi-weekly column for The Cut Stuff. She’s golf obsessed. She’s ready to go behind the tour.
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