Rory McIlroy is trying not to watch the TV highlights from his win at the Masters
“Everything beyond this, for however long I decide to play the game competitively, is a bonus,” McIlroy says regarding his career after the Masters win
McIlroy has won four times at Quail Hollow, the site of this week’s PGA Championship
Rory McIlroy is still emotional about his win at Augusta.
The five-time majors champ says he is looking forward to this week’s PGA Championship — and trying not to look back on the moment last month when he sank to his knees after sinking a putt in sudden death to capture golf’s elusive Grand Slam.
At least he’s not watching the TV highlights on repeat.
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Instead, McIlroy told reporters in advance of Thursday’s first round that he wants to remember his Masters win for “what I was feeling and what I was seeing through my own eyes.”
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Rory McIlroy and daughter Poppy
“But any time I have [watched the moment], I well up,” McIlroy, 36, said. “I still feel like I want to cry. Yeah, it was an involuntary [reaction]. I’ve never felt a release like that before, and I might never feel a release like that again. That could be a once-in-a-lifetime thing, and it was a very cool moment.”
After besting Justin Rose in the one-hole playoff, McIlroy earned his first green jacket, and put an end to a decade-plus quest for golf’s crowning achievement.
When his 4-foot putt went in, the Irish golfer threw his golf club in the air, collapsed to the ground and got emotional.
“I have achieved everything that I’ve wanted,” McIlroy said. “I’ve done everything I’ve wanted to do in the game. I dreamed as a child of becoming the best player in the world and winning all the majors. I’ve done that. Everything beyond this, for however long I decide to play the game competitively, is a bonus.”
A favorite to win the Wanamaker Trophy this weekend — he’s won four times at Quail Hollow — McIlroy is taking his recent success in stride. But he says he’s not satisfied with his historic accomplishment in April.
“That’s a very cool thing,” he said. “I want to still create a lot of other highlights and high points, but I’m not sure if any other win will live up to what happened a few weeks ago.”
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