{"id":529159,"date":"2026-04-13T20:58:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T20:58:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/529159\/"},"modified":"2026-04-13T20:58:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T20:58:14","slug":"i-watched-rory-mcilroy-win-the-masters-with-rafael-nadal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/529159\/","title":{"rendered":"I watched Rory McIlroy win the Masters with Rafael Nadal"},"content":{"rendered":"

It is Nadal\u2019s first visit to the Masters and he has a tee time on Monday. Right now, though, the Spaniard is utterly engrossed in McIlroy\u2019s pursuit of another Green Jacket \u2013 and it\u2019s intoxicating to witness one of sport\u2019s true immortals conquer this game\u2019s most daring stretch through the eyes of another.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s exuding more nerves than the man inside the ropes, skittish and twitching around in his own idiosyncratic way like he once prowled the tennis court. \u201cMamoosh\u201d comes Nadal\u2019s visceral cry, breaking the silence after the emphatic thump of McIlroy\u2019s drive which splits the fairway.<\/p>\n

McIlroy is bouncing again. He had began this Sunday afternoon stuttering, contriving to double bogey the fourth with a three-putt from close range before another mistake on the sixth. That six-stroke 36-hole lead that was supposed to precede his weekend procession had very briefly become a three-shot deficit. McIlroy has always been more comfortable being the hunter over the hunted. Birdies at seven and eight restore parity before this defining trip to Amen Corner.<\/p>\n

\"Rafael<\/p>\n

Flanked by a Green Jacket and childhood friend Tomeu Salva, Nadal is scooting around the patrons for a vantage point. An Augusta National navy cap \u2013 available only at the club\u2019s exclusive pro shop \u2013 conceals the beaming sunshine but not Nadal\u2019s identity. He embraces every single gushing fan that approaches him.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s chaperoned into the 12th grandstand and surveys the lay of the land. The no phone rule is Augusta\u2019s greatest asset and Nadal is embracing his new analogue nirvana. A change to the giant leaderboard to the left of the 11th green catches his attention. \u201cRose has gone to 10,\u201d he tells me, pointing out that the Englishman had bogeyed 11 and 12 up ahead. The romantic story of Rose<\/a> defying both Father Time and years of Masters heartache was quickly beginning to unravel.<\/p>\n

One by one on this Masters Sunday, McIlroy\u2019s challengers began to fade. His playing partner Cameron Young was riding his luck early on but that ran out when his putter turned cold.<\/p>\n

Up ahead, Shane Lowry had exited the stage before the second nine. Scottie Scheffler, as always, was lurking<\/a>, but this time at arms\u2019 length.<\/p>\n

A flustered elderly woman approaches Nadal at the back of the grandstand overlooking Golden Bell. \u201cI almost fainted when I saw you,\u201d she sputters. Many would have the same reaction when faced with McIlroy\u2019s next shot as the Masters hung in the balance. The gusts of wind were as strong and unpredictable around the 12th hole as they had been all week.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was all over the place,\u201d McIlroy explains in his post-round press conference. \u201cWhen I stood up on the tee, it felt like it was off the right, and I looked at the 11th flag, it was blowing right to left. But I was patient, and I waited to feel where the wind should have been coming from, and I knew it was just a perfect three-quarter nine-iron.\u201d<\/p>\n

McIlroy heeds Jack Nicklaus\u2019 famous advice and aims at the middle of the bunker, yet his ball flares slightly right, resting only six feet from the pin. Nadal scans the leaderboard again, realizing McIlroy will go three shots clear with this birdie.<\/p>\n

\u201cAbsolutely huge,\u201d McIlroy says of this defining moment. \u201cA huge shot in the tournament.\u201d<\/p>\n

When McIlroy converts the birdie, Nadal throws a fist-pump with the same ferocity that would follow a crushing forehand winner on clay. \u201cVamos!\u201d he bellows, giving his identity away to a few more. Nadal is living and breathing every moment of this, perhaps more than any other patron. He has a unique understanding of the flow state in which McIlroy has found himself.<\/p>\n

Under the Big Oak Tree<\/a> as he began his round, Nadal was \u201chopeful\u201d McIlroy would defend his Green Jacket, becoming only the fourth golfer in history to do so. Back then it was anyone\u2019s game. But now things were starting to unfold just as he had planned. McIlroy strolls on, having played the world\u2019s most daunting par 3 in a combined four shots over the weekend. Nadal, meanwhile, vanishes into the dust on the 13th, scrambling through the patrons with floored jaws who had begun to clock his presence.<\/p>\n

The allure about Rory McIlroy is that you can\u2019t enjoy his genius without the constant fear of self-implosion. Suspicion that McIlroy could once again capitulate around the par-5 was wiped out by a monstrous drive which left him only an eight-iron into the green. He made birdie, ensuring he played Amen Corner in two-under par.<\/p>\n

The biggest sign of a wobble came up ahead on 15. There was a collective gasp from the grandstand to the left of the green as McIlroy\u2019s third appeared to be heading for a watery grave. A brilliant two putt from the front edge ensured his lead remained three.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t make it easy,\u201d McIlroy laughs afterwards. \u201cI used to make it easy back in my early 20s when I was winning these things by eight shots.\u201d<\/p>\n

Two more masterful up-and-downs came on the 16th and 17th and by this stage the anxiety around McIlroy had finally dissipated. He needed six down the last, even affording one more heart-stopping trip to the pines before his coronation ensued with an early raise of the arms of the final green.<\/p>\n

\"2026<\/p>\n

Over by the scorer\u2019s building McIlroy is not immediately welcomed by Nadal \u2013 there will be time for that \u2013 but by those who have followed his journey so closely. His parents, Gerry and Rosie, look emotionally wrecked but are beaming and share hugs with Lowry and Tommy Fleetwood. They had missed McIlroy winning the career Grand Slam here last year because they were busy moving house in Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wouldn\u2019t be sitting up here if it wasn\u2019t for them,\u201d McIlroy says. \u201cI had to persuade them to come this year because they thought the reason I won last year was because they weren\u2019t here. I\u2019m glad we proved that wrong, so they can keep coming as long as they want.\u201d<\/p>\n

And so at long last, the floodgates have opened for the game\u2019s most enthralling champion.<\/p>\n

\u201cRory may never lose this thing again after last year,\u201d the old sage Fred Couples only half-joked way back on Thursday afternoon.<\/p>\n

Maybe he was on to something.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It is Nadal\u2019s first visit to the Masters and he has a tee time on Monday. Right now,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":529160,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[5904,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-529159","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-golf","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/529159","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=529159"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/529159\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/529160"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=529159"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=529159"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=529159"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}