Two days before the start of the 89th Masters, Rory McIlroy and Justin Rose were invited to dinner by several members of Augusta National.
Next year, McIlroy will be in a different place on a Tuesday night in early April, at the Champions Dinner following an almost unimaginable victory that made him only the sixth player to win a Grand Slam title in his career.
“It's ironic that these things happen,” McIlroy said after making birdie on the first extra hole to secure the coveted green jacket and hand Rose her second Masters playoff loss.
“On Tuesday night, we were invited to dinner by some members of the club and we were the only two players at that table and we were the ones who made it to the playoffs. It's funny how it all works,” he added.
“Justin is an outstanding champion. I remember watching the playoff on the 17th hole when he was battling Sergio [Garcia], and that didn't go his way either.
“But he's had an impressive run here and I feel a little sorry for him because he was so close. He's a good friend of mine and I hope he gets more chances.”
McIlroy's first opportunity to win the Masters came in his third appearance in 2011, when the 21-year-old led by four strokes entering the final round but then faded in the last 80.
He responded two months later by crushing the US Open at Congressional and winning the 2012 US PGA Championship by a similarly wide margin, but it was his victory at the 2014 Open Championship that put him in the spotlight.
Winning the Royal Liverpool meant McIlroy “only” needed to win the Masters to join Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods, who have won all four major titles. All four living members of that exclusive club believed it was only a matter of time.
Nicklaus, Player and Watson reaffirmed that after serving as honorary starters before the first round on Thursday, adding an extra burden of expectation that McIlroy could have done without.
“It's tough,” he admitted. “Jack, Gary, Tom, Tiger, whoever came here and said I was going to win the Masters one day. It's a tough burden. It really is.
“These are my idols, and,
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
