By winning the event and completing golf’s career grand slam, McIlroy joined a group of just five other golfers – including Woods – to have accomplished the feat.
During an appearance on The Tonight Show in the US, the Holywood, Co Down native told host Jimmy Fallon the simple, classy message Woods gave him after he finally ended an 11-year wait to join that exclusive group: “Welcome to the club, kid.”
He also revealed Elton John’s assistant got in touch to say the legendary singer wished to congratulate him in person, but that meeting is yet to take place.
McIlroy was wearing the iconic green jacket given to each Masters winner during his appearance on the long-running talk show and joked that he “wouldn’t come back here until I had this green jacket”.
He won at Augusta National in the most dramatic of circumstances, having given away and taken back the lead on a number of occasions and winning a playoff with Justin Rose.
“I know,” McIlroy said of the drama on the final day. “Everyone comes up to me and they’re like ‘You don’t know what you put us through on that Sunday’. I was like, how do you think I was feeling?”
Asked what his thought were after he sank the winning putt, he said: “I’m just thinking ‘Thank goodness that is over’. It was the 17th time playing the tournament, on my third time playing way back in 2011 I had a four shot lead going into the final round, wasn’t able to win.
“So, it had been 14 years since that, 11 years trying to achieve the career grand slam. I go back every year, put my positive hat on, go with a good attitude and every time I leave on that Sunday night and it wouldn’t happen.
“You start to think is it ever going to be your time. Did I miss it, have I lost my opportunity? I think there’s a good message in there about never giving up, keep coming back, be strong, be resilient. That patience paid off.”
During the high-pressure four days of the Masters, McIlroy said he avoided coverage of the tournament and sports news and distracted himself by reading books.
He said he and his wife Erica Stoll watched the Netflix series Bridgerton together – her choice – though McIlroy admitted he got into it as well. On the Saturday morning of the tournament, he and his daughter Poppy (4) watched Zootopia.
Poppy delivered one of the best moments of the weekend when she sank a long putt herself, though McIlroy said the youngster was a bit “overwhelmed”.
“I don’t think she anticipated the loud cheer. So, she got a little overwhelmed, she started to cry a little bit.
“Then when we got back to the clubhouse, she wanted to see the video. She looked at it, she’s studying it and she looked at me and said ‘It’s OK dad, I don’t think they caught me crying’.”
Before ending the segment, McIlroy and Fallon competed against each other chipping golf balls into washing machines.
This was a nod to McIlroy’s appearance on the Gerry Kelly Show at age 9, where he famously chipped into a washing machine and revealed that was how he practised at home.
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