Rory McIlroy ended up alone after collecting Masters green jacket in incredibly rare scenario
Rory McIlroy was the only golfer present in Butler Cabin after winning this year's Masters, an incredibly rare scenario that has happened just once before.
On Sunday evening, McIlroy joined CBS lead golf announcer Jim Nantz and Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley in the famous Butler Cabin, a building where the winner is presented with his Green Jacket.
More often than not, the winner is joined by last year's champion and the highest-scoring amateur for the week.
But on this occasion, McIlroy was the only golfer present at the famous Augusta landmark. He defended his title, meaning there was no previous champion to accompany him, and no amateur made the cut.
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At least one other player is often present to help present the Green Jacket. In fact, the only other time a winner has been alone came in 2002, when Tiger Woods went back-to-back.
It meant the presentation was slightly shorter than usual, with Ridley presenting the jacket after an emotional speech from McIlroy.
Speaking in the Butler Cabin after Ridley's presentation, the Northern Irishman became emotional as he spoke about his parents, Rosie and Gerry, who witnessed their son survive an up and down final round to secure a one-shot victory.
"My mum and dad, they weren't here last year to celebrate with us," he said. "Surprisingly, I had to convince them to come this year, because they thought the reason I won was because they weren't here. I'm glad we proved that wrong."
McIlroy added: "I owe everything to you. You are the most wonderful parents and if I can be half the parent to Poppy as you are to me, I know I'll have done a good job."
The 36-year-old also spoke about his "tough weekend" after a poor round on Saturday.
“I think all of my perseverance at this golf tournament over the years has really started to pay off," he said. “It was a tough weekend. I did the bulk of my work on Thursday and Friday, but I’m just so happy to hang in there and get the job done.”
He continued: “I checked the scoreboards after the rough start. I needed to know where I was in the tournament. I thought if I could get back to even par for the day, which I did with birdies on 7 and 8, I was going to be right there on the back nine. I was keeping an eye all day."
“There were a few guys making a run, but nobody like Justin last year," McIlroy added. "I’m fortunate the guys didn’t really come at me this year either.”
Two-time Masters winner Scottie Scheffler finished one shot behind McIlroy on 11 under, while Russell Henley, Cameron Young, Tyrrell Hatton and Justin Rose finished the tournament two strokes off the lead.
Topics: Rory Mcilroy
Jack Kenmare