Rory McIlroy‘s win at Augusta National in 2025 was as monumental as it was emotional. The Irishman had taken 12 years to finally climb the mountain and plant the flag. The Green Jacket was finally his to wear, and he will get to host a Champions Dinner this year. So it doesn’t come as a surprise that he got pretty sentimental when Jim Nantz asked him a personal question after his Masters Tournament win. But that wasn’t Nantz’s intention.

Joining the Vanity Index Podcast, Nantz told Wells Adams, “Last year, I had Rory in the Butler’s Cabin to get the Green Jacket. Somehow, there was a question about the sacrifices that had been made by his parents as an only child, what they did to build this golf prodigy into a career Grand Slam winner. And you could see him tearing up. I got some people saying, ‘Oh, you tried to make him cry.’ I’m not trying to make anybody cry. It’s not a goal. You don’t get any bonus check in the mail.”

Moments after winning the Masters Tournament, McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler sat in the Butler’s Cabin for the Green Jacket ceremony. After the World No. 1 helped the Irishman into the iconic jacket, he was visibly emotional about finally getting to wear it. That’s when Nantz questioned McIlroy about his parents’ efforts.

His parents played a huge role in helping him reach his career goals. McIlroy has always mentioned how he will never be able to repay them. As such, it’s understandable why the Grand Slam champion was left teary-eyed. But the veteran analyst didn’t leave him hanging.

“He got caught, and they were watching from back home in Northern Ireland. I think he just needed a line in there to help bridge it. I think I said something as simple as ‘They made a lot of sacrifices.’ He said, ‘They did.'”

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As he mentioned, he led the conversation to help draw a response from him, even when he was emotional. Nantz understood the depth of the situation and realized that he needed to bridge the conversation for McIlroy to avoid making it awkward for him. In the end, the interview turned out great, and he moved on to the trophy ceremony. But after looking at the entire incident, the CBS analyst realized one thing.

“He was very choked up. It was so real. I thought his whole celebration was as authentic as anything I was saying. He just crumbled onto the green, the putter went over his head, and it was nothing that felt preplanned about that victory salute, that fist pump, or whatever it’s going to be. His body was just limp from the gravity of what had just happened.”

Winning the Masters Tournament relieved a lot of stress from McIlroy. He was let go of the pressure he had felt for 12 straight years of not completing the career Grand Slam. From the celebration on the green to the sigh when Scheffler put the Green Jacket on him during the trophy ceremony, fans could see him experiencing a range of emotions like relief, joy, and excitement, all within minutes. That was the effect of finally winning the Masters Tournament.

Perhaps, everything that followed over the next few months was McIlroy just letting go of himself.

Was Rory McIlroy’s dip in form after the 2025 Masters win a result of his release from the burden of winning it?

For months after the Masters Tournament win, Rory McIlroy seemed like a shadow of himself. He failed to maintain the consistency that he had at the beginning of the 2025 season.

The Irishman had a horrid start to the PGA Championship, scoring a 3-over 74. He struggled to make up for it and ended the tournament at T74. Moreover, the non-conforming driver controversy drew a lot of attention during this period.

He had his worst-ever finish at the RBC Canadian Open after missing the cut by scoring a 9-over par. McIlroy’s poor run of form continued at the U.S. Open after he shot a 4-over 74 on Thursday. However, he was able to partly recover in the major and finished at T19 in the end.

He finally regained some consistency when the PGA Tour left for Europe for the Genesis Scottish Open. McIlroy finished at T2 in the tournament. He also won the 2025 Amgen Irish Open. But the period between his wins was probably when he wasn’t worrying about accomplishments anymore.