Rory McIlroy reveals his 4-YO daughter refused to let him take golf lessons and that fueled his Masters win
Northern Irish golfer Rory McIlroy won the 2025 Masters Tournament and secured one of the biggest achievements in professional golf– a career Grand Slam. Following his victory, McIlroy shared the story of an adorable moment he had with his daughter Poppy before he played at Augusta National.
McIlroy won the West of Ireland Championship and Irish Amateur Close Championship in 2005. The following year, he won the European Amateur, and in 2007, he started his professional career. The 35-year-old has won 29 events on the PGA Tour and has five major championship titles.
On April 18, Golf on CBS posted a clip of Rory McIlroy speaking about his iconic Masters victory on their Instagram page. The 19-time European Tour winner shared that he was on his way to get golf lessons from golf instructor Butch Harmon, when his adorable four-year-old daughter asked him where he was headed.
McIlroy told Poppy he was going to get golf lessons and she innocently responded:
“But dada, you already know how to play golf.”
Take a look at the video here:
The latest career Grand Slam winner chuckled as he shared the story and said it was “probably the best piece of advice” he has gotten in the last three years. Furthermore, he revealed that Poppy's quote was engraved on the ball marker he used during the tournament.
Rory McIlroy finished his final round at the Masters with a score of 11-under, tied with Justin Rose for the lead. The two proceeded into a playoff and McIlroy emerged victorious to clinch his maiden green jacket.
“Believe in your dreams” - Rory McIlroy shares an important piece of advice after winning the Masters
After Rory McIlroy secured his victory at Augusta, he spoke to the media admitting that the achievement was a dream come true for him. He also gave some valuable advice, saying (via ASAP Sports):
“Just keep believing. And I would say that to any young boy or girl that's listening to this. I've literally made my dreams come true today, and I would say to every boy and girl listening to this, believe in your dreams, and if you work hard enough and if you put the effort in, that you can achieve anything you want.”
The Holywood-born further spoke about his Masters win, saying that he had a lot of roller coaster rounds at the tournament and had an “emotionally draining” week at Augusta. He added that there were times he never thought he’d ever secure a Masters title, and credited his victory to being consistent and optimistic.
Before winning the Masters Tournament, Rory McIlroy had been in an 11-year drought and his last major championship victory was at the 2014 Open Championship. He had come close to winning the Augusta trophy several times but including his previous best second position which was in 2022.
Last year, McIlroy finished the Masters at T22 and surprisingly missed the cut the year before that.