Rory McIlroy faced a tremendous amount of pressure as he prepared for the final round of the Masters on Sunday, and an unexpected message he received beforehand seems to have stuck with him.
McIlroy defeated Justin Rose in a playoff on Sunday at Augusta National Golf Club to win the first green jacket of his career. The victory, which was McIlroy’s first in a major since 2014, made him only the sixth golfer in history to complete the career grand slam.
Following the round, McIlroy spoke with reporters about the emotions he experienced after he birdied the first sudden-death playoff hole to win the tournament. One of the things McIlroy revealed is that he received a hand-written note from Angel Cabrera prior to the final round.
“I got to my locker this morning and I opened it up, and there was a note in there from Angel Cabrera, and just wishing me luck,” McIlroy said, via Nick Piastowski of Golf.com. “And Angel Cabrera was the player I played with on the final day in 2011. It was a nice touch and a little bit ironic at the same time. It’s been 14 long years, but thankfully I got the job done.”
As McIlroy mentioned, Cabrera was in the final pairing with the 35-year-old at the 2011 Masters. That gave Cabrera, the 2009 Masters champion, an up-close look at McIlroy’s brutal collapse.
McIlroy had a four-shot lead after 54 holes at the 2011 Masters. He completely fell apart on the final nine holes of the tournament, shooting an 80 on the last day. Many wondered if the Irishman would ever exorcise those demons.
Though McIlroy likely received countless encouraging messages prior to Sunday, the note from Cabrera clearly made a lasting impression.
