Rory McIlroy confronted an incredible quantity of strain as he ready for the ultimate spherical of the Masters on Sunday, and an surprising message he acquired beforehand appears to have caught with him.
McIlroy defeated Justin Rose in a playoff on Sunday at Augusta Nationwide Golf Membership to win the primary inexperienced jacket of his profession. The victory, which was McIlroy’s first in a serious since 2014, made him only the sixth golfer in history to finish the profession grand slam.
Following the spherical, McIlroy spoke with reporters in regards to the feelings he skilled after he birdied the primary sudden-death playoff gap to win the event. One of many issues McIlroy revealed is that he acquired a hand-written notice from Angel Cabrera previous to the ultimate spherical.
“I obtained to my locker this morning and I opened it up, and there was a notice in there from Angel Cabrera, and simply wishing me luck,” McIlroy mentioned, via Nick Piastowski of Golf.com. “And Angel Cabrera was the participant I performed with on the ultimate day in 2011. It was a pleasant contact and a little bit bit ironic on the identical time. It’s been 14 lengthy years, however fortunately I obtained the job finished.”
As McIlroy talked about, Cabrera was within the remaining pairing with the 35-year-old on the 2011 Masters. That gave Cabrera, the 2009 Masters champion, an up-close have a look at McIlroy’s brutal collapse.
McIlroy had a four-shot lead after 54 holes on the 2011 Masters. He fully fell aside on the ultimate 9 holes of the event, taking pictures an 80 on the final day. Many questioned if the Irishman would ever exorcise these demons.
Although McIlroy doubtless acquired numerous encouraging messages previous to Sunday, the notice from Cabrera clearly made an enduring impression.
