Rory McIlroy’s Masters tears flowed for a different reason this time

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Last year, Gerry and Rosie McIlroy were 4,000 miles away, at home in Northern Ireland, when their only child won his first Masters title and career Grand Slam. This time, Gerry and Rosie couldn’t be missed again – but they be cutting it close. On a warm, still Sunday evening, Rory completed what would have been a one-shot victory at No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, the McIlroys ride in a golf cart in front of Augusta National’s clapboard clubhouse.

Accompanied by Rory and Augusta National member and regular golfer Jimmy Dunne, Gerry and Rosie entered the building, passed through a narrow alley full of past Masters champions – their son among them – and out the back door onto the back lawn of the 18th green, which at this time was 20 rows or 3 deep. Gerry was wearing black wingtips, black pants and a polo shirt emblazoned with the logo of the Seminole Golf Club, the exclusive South Florida resort where he lives; Rosie wore a colorful, flowy top and white capris. Their son was about to enter his second green jacket.

Knowing that winning time was at hand, Dunne suggested that the McIlroys might be better off staying in the clubhouse and watching TV in the lobby. The group turned around, went back inside and gathered around a small computer monitor that was broadcasting the Masters.com feed. Rory, after a wayward tee shot on the 18th, was weighing his options in the pine trees to the right of the fairway. He had two holes and was still in control of his destiny, but still … for his parents it was not easy to watch.

And they didn’t – for long, anyway, because a few minutes later, Gerry and Rosie were on their way again. Someone in Rory’s group had recommended that they start walking down to the area behind the 18th green where friends and family had gathered to greet the winner. The McIlroys came out of the clubhouse for the second time, wandered through the crowd to watch the action and put themselves in a hug that had been in the making for years.

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The many sacrifices Gerry and Rosie make for their son are well documented. While young Rory went to play at Holywood Golf Club, in east Belfast, Gerry worked two jobs, as a locker room assistant and bartender, while Rosie worked nights at the 3M factory. It wasn’t easy but it was necessary to support their son’s blossoming: lessons, trips to competitions near and far, a bright green practice in the yard behind their low brick house. Everything was needed for Rory to be Rory.

Earlier this year, Rory took Gerry, a great player in his own right, for a spin around Augusta National, which marked Gerry’s first visit to Augusta since Rory won there last April. They stopped at the par-5 15th from where Rory, in the fourth round of the 2025 Masters, hit a low draw 7-iron; Rory dropped the ball and delivered another beauty. The Sunday before this year’s Masters, Rory invited his father to play another round at Augusta – this time with Dunne and another Augusta member, businessman Michael Walrath. The vibes were high. They were about to go up a lot.

When McIlroy made amends for his winning bogey on Sunday’s 18th green in the evening, the scene lacked the spine-tingling electricity of last year but it still didn’t reach the emotional level. After McIlroy hugged his caddy, Harry Diamond, and exchanged pleasantries with his playing partner, Cameron Young, he walked to the roped-off station behind the green where his family was waiting. The first pinch went to her 5-year-old daughter, Poppy, who slipped under the wire line. Then came kissing and hugging wife Erica, who was hiding under a sun hat. Gerry and Rosie followed. Rory pulled them close – Rosie under his left arm and Gerry under his right.

“It’s good that you came!” said the son, clearly. “It’s good that you came!”

Rory’s Tour friends are happy to see Rory’s parents, too. As Rory used his card to drive inside the clubhouse, a crowd of well-wishers gathered outside. Among them was Shane Lowry, who found Gerry and kissed him. So, too, is Tommy Fleetwood. Not that there was much time for idleness: the Blue Jacket Festival is the attraction. As Team McIlroy made a procession to the green where Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley would slide the mantle to Rory, Erica and Poppy led the charge. Gerry, who was in the show behind them, laughed and said, “You know this, you know where to go.”

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As the proceedings began, the setting sun cast a beautiful glow over Augusta National. Rory thanked the club and staff and his “big fans” Erica and Poppy. Then he called out “mom and dad.”

“They were not there last year to celebrate with us last year, surprisingly I had to persuade them to come this year because they thought that the reason I won was because they were not there.

The crowd laughed.

“Mom and dad,” Rory continued, looking at his parents, “I owe everything to you. You are, umm…”

Rory’s voice cracked. The crowd clapped. Rory wiped the tears from her eyes.

“You are the best parents,” he said. “And if I can be as much of a parent to Poppy as you were to me, then I know I’ve done a good job. Thank you.”

Later, when he met the media, Rory said that whenever he found himself thinking about his parents during the cycle, he dismissed those thoughts. “I was like, ‘No, not yet, not yet,'” he said, adding, “It’s amazing to have them here. I’m so excited to celebrate with them tonight.”

Gerry and Rosie were ahead of him, over at the Eisenhower Cabin, near the green classroom where the green jacket ceremony was held. As the day faded into night, Rory’s parents got out of the cabin and began the journey to their next destination. The object in Gerry’s left hand signaled that the event was over: a half-finished beer glass.