I don't even know how to unpack yesterday. I don't know how to unpack Sunday at the Masters. Um because it is and was epic.
It was like an opus. It was like an opera. It was um a comedy and a tragedy all in one.
And I know we usually use these types of analogies in the sports world. Um, and it it doesn't meet the moment. And we usually use those types of analogies in the sports world for events like the Masters.
And it sounds overhyped. It sounds overcooked, but there really is nothing like a Sunday at the Masters when there's a story unfolding like the one involving Rory Maroy yesterday. Now, we all know Rory's story.
if you don't. He's been sitting on a career grand slam to join only five other players in the history of the sport to win both opens, United States and what back in the day we would used to call the British Open. Now it's the Open, the PGA Championship, and of course the Masters.
And only five players have ever done it. And Rory's been sitting on this now, entering an 11th year attempting to win the Masters to complete the career grand slam. And everything that we've seen in Rory Mryy's remarkable Hall of Fame career was boiled into 19 holes of golf yesterday.
from the remarkable shot making to the mindblowing mistake shots one after another where you thought he's going to do it then you think he's not going to do it and then this is really his day and now it's definitely not his day and he's melting down but he's making amazing shots to recover from it I mean the fact that the man had a twoshot lead over Bryson Dambo and entering the final round after Dashambo rolls in one from long distance on 18 to finish up his Saturday. Unreal putt and fires up the crowd as he heads off to the cabin to sign his scorecard. And he wraps up that Saturday to go within two shots and within one hole of golf.
The twoshot lead is erased because Maroy doubles one and the Shambo birdies two. And now not only is the lead gone, but you're wondering if his day is just going to go right in the toilet. and Dashambo starts struggling and Maroy is struggling and you're watching Justin Rose start to climb the board.
Other players climbing the board. The iceberg looms and you're wondering if Rory's the Titanic as a third player joins the frey and Mry I mean hits the back nine teetering but also stealing himself the entirety of his career. Why you root for the man with his flaws all on display in one long what we thought would either be celebration of him or one long as only the master's back nine can provide this sort of drama one large shipwreck.
The guy birdies 10 and then nearly puts it in the water on 11 after he hits out of the pine straw from under the tree. And it's like Rory, what the hell are you doing? Anywhere but left, bro.
He nearly puts it in the drink, which the does. Well, then Bryson does. And then we go to 12 where we know Jordan Smith has had A master's wrecked and masters get wrecked.
Everybody in 2019 except Tiger on this beautiful jewel of a par three hole that looks so damn easy from your couch. It's so easy. But when it's Master Sunday, even the greats buckle the knees, which is what makes this golf course so remarkable because we know the holes and we know the opportunities that can be had with par 3es on the back and parfives on the back that can also blow your world up.
We're familiar with these holes as we are some of the greats of the sport because of the sport. Everybody wants to wear the jacket. Every great does.
And the Mast's Golf Tournament and the way it is run and the way the course lays out is a great in and of itself which just raises the tension in the drama cuz we know what's coming. And sure enough on 13 Rory decides to lay up and he's got an 86 yder. Just flip it.
Just flip it up. He could do this in his sleep. And what he does is what no professional player who wants to wear the green jacket wants to hear.
Rory Maroy does what I do. I desel. He del.
And he puts it in the drink. Oh god. At this point in time, I yelled at the television set.
I think my heart stopped. I I know of friends who cursed at the television set. I can only imagine what's going through this guy's brain.
Oh my god. I mean, par fives, you got to eat the parfs. You got to eat them for lunch.
You got to eat them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner to win a jacket. That's what Tiger does. Tiger, you just look at his career in the par fives and the Masters.
You just eat it instead. This man doubles it. But he he does the smart.
He has a three-shot lead. He's playing it smart. Doesn't hit driver.
Hits threewood. I don't have a problem with him laying up. Doesn't go for it.
lays up and then hits maybe the worst shot I've ever seen. I couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe it.
Now, Dashambo had these opportunities as well, and he played worse worse. And so, it was Rose and Oberg that was Yep. becoming the object closer and closer in the rear view mirror of Rory M.
Rose was making everything. He was spectacular. And now we're tied.
He's lost the lead. Rory Maroy has now lost the lead. And sure enough, what does he do?
He shows up on 15, another par five, and says, "You know this laying up thing? It's for the birds that you're hearing chirping every single time that there's a silent moment on CBS. " The birds.
and he unccors a remarkable shot on 15 to set himself up for an eagle putt that he misses. Of course, because if he if he jars that with three holes to go, he'd be up two. He'd be up two.
And Justin Rose is running out of holes and Oberg's running out of holes and he doesn't and he doesn't he doesn't take advantage of it. say he birdies it steps up to 16 which for some reason the Masters changed the traditional pin. They did.
That's because it's the 50th anniversary of when Jack won in 75 and the pin was in the back that year and they changed. Good enough. Yeah.
And Rory unccorks a gorgeous t-ball there and I turn to my son. And I turn to Coop and I'm like, Coop, he's got to make this because I don't think he's going to have a better birdie opportunity the rest of the way than this one. Doesn't do it.
Steps up to 17. Now that Justin Rose on 18 jars his birdie putt. So now Justin Rose makes Rory, you got to force him to actually score.
cuz Rose shoots a 66 and just as I was saying to Coup, hey, you know, he's not going to have a better birdie opportunity the rest of the way, he does on 17 because he makes the shot of his life there. He jars that putt and all he needs to do is par 18 and he strokes it right down the middle of the fairway. And this is Rory's moment.
He's a buck 25 away on his approach shot and he whiffs on that. He puts it in the sand and it winds up boging 18 to give Justin Rose an opportunity to go ahead and win this thing in extra holes. And I'm like, I cannot believe this is happening.
I I I I I think I'm describing the way everyone was watching the Masters, right? I mean, I can't watch. My heart rate was at 140 for the last like hour.
I am I am applauding the screen one minute. I am cursing the screen the next. And um Mry now is in a cart to go back to 18 T.
and he's got this whole setup potentially to disintegrate and all he does is put together two remarkable shots off the tea and he's got another buck 25 just like the 18th in regulation just like 15 minutes before. Rose is already now on the on the green with an absolute makeable birdie putt, but it's far away. And he makes the shot of his life again to the point where it's so damn close.
It's so good. He could kick it in. He could kick it in.
After Rose hit a beautiful shot as well, Rory puts it, you know, underneath him. Rose misses. Rory makes and it's finally over.
It's finally over. And Mry has the weight of the world come off him. And I am not going to lie, I have never met this man in my life.
I only know him through golf. I only know him through watching. I only know him through reading.
I only know him through his sound bites and his press conferences and everything else you hear about the guy. But I cried. Yeah.
I teared up. Me, too. It got dusty in my house because you watch a guy torture himself.
Torture himself on display and then he finally gets it done in Augusta on this golf course on this day in this manner. I totally loved everything about it. CBS's coverage from Nance setting the stage to the pictures of what just watching him process the moment and stroll off 18 to Butler cabin and just greet everybody who was just imbuing.
It was why we watch sports and why the Masters is truly a tradition unlike any other. and Mry had this to say afterwards, summing it all up. I've carried that burden since August 2014.
It's been 11 years, nearly 11 years. Um, and not just about winning my next major, but the career grand slam, you know, trying to join a group of five players to do it. um you know watching a lot of my peers get green jackets in the process um yeah it's it's been difficult and I've tried to approach this tournament with the most positive attitude each and every time that I've shown up and I think just the the sort of cumulative experience that I've gained coming back here each and every year um I just I feel like I get a little more comfortable with the shots needed um you know I talk about at the start of the week, but you know, there's talking about it and actually doing it.
And yeah, today was today was difficult. I was unbelievably nervous this morning. Um really nervous on the first hall.
Um as you witnessed with the double, but as I said, that sort of calm me down and you know, I was able to bounce back and and show, you know, that resilience that I've talked about a lot. And um yeah, no, look, it was a it was a heavy weight to carry. And you know, thankfully now I don't have to carry it and it frees me up.
And you know, I know I'm coming back here every year, which is lovely. It is every emotion. I'm going to cry right now.
I'm just so happy for him. Every emotion. There is nothing like the Masters.
An American stage unlike any other. It truly is. And the way that they do it, too.
They take people's phones away. Oh, he he mentioned that too. I think Do we have that?
Do we have that soundbite? I think that was had sound bite two. Was it Mike?
I don't know what it was. The way they have the analog score, you know, the scoreboards, right? You don't know what's happening.
It's like uh the guys were talking about it's like Paul Rivere. People whisper and news travels like telephone. And when they showed Rory after the double on 30, like the sad cobras and the gasping that went on around 18, it's just right.
People are not watching the event through their screens that they're recording because they take their phones away from it. Love that. Honestly, it's it's a throwback.
It's a throwback. It is also a comeback. By that I mean I can't wait to go back to next year's masters now because it's something I grew up with.
The holes are like old friends. I know 11. I know 12.
I know 13. I know 15. I know 16, 17, 18.
I know the pin placements. I know where I remember where I watched that moment. I remember this.
I remember that. I can't get enough of it. And for it just and listen, I know he's from Northern Ireland and I I I I I know there are probably for him geographically potentially more important uh tournaments for him maybe growing up, I don't know.
Uh but uh for the Masters to be the final piece, they they can't be any better. And I think he said something like that um when when he was talking about um having to go back to 18 to win it again. After scoring, Harry and I were walking to the the golf cart to bring us back to the 18th TE and he said to me, "Well, pal, we would have taken this on Monday morning.
" I'm like, "Yeah, absolutely we would have. " So, you know, that was that was an easy reset. He basically said to me, "Look, you you would have given your right arm to be in a playoff at the start of the week.
" So, um, that sort of reframed it a little bit for me. And, um, yeah, I, you know, again, I just kept telling myself, just make the same swing you made in the in regulation. And I had a great drive up there.
And, um, yeah, and the rest is history. Got that third sound. Pop that one up there, hos.
we might as well just unload everything cuz he said that uh um the emotions of finally sinking that putt, you know, he did once upon a time have a four shot lead in the Masters. Yeah. In 2011 and the his playing partner was Anel Cabrera on that day who's gotten through what he just got out of jail after two and a half years, right?
He was at he was at the Masters and he left uh he left a note for Mry because Cabrera was his playing partner the day that he melted down and he was another moment. We were wondering if the same thing was going to happen. just a complete roller coaster of emotions today.
And um and honestly, you know, what came out of me on the on the last screen there in the playoff was um you know at least 11 years if not 14 years of pent up emotion um you know since 2011. I think it's it's so ironic as well. I got to my locker this morning and I opened it up and there was a note in there from Ankel Cabrera and just wishing me luck and Anel Cabera was the player I played with in the final day in 2011.
Um, so just a it was sort of it was a nice touch and and and a little bit ironic at the same time. And um it's been 14 long years, but thankfully I'm uh I got I got the job done. There's six of them now.
Sarah and Hogan player Nicholas Tiger Rory and um as you know many of them can be just mentioned by one name and uh Rory's one of them career grand slam. What a day. I am just I I there's nothing like it man.
No I just need three four hours you know and a remote and a television. That's what I need you know and uh and again it was great. Soup to nuts, the whole thing.
