2025 was one for the books for Rory McIlroy! He won “one of the cathedrals of golf” at Pebble Beach, completed his career Grand Slam, won his national Open, and won an away Ryder Cup. A glorified year, but it wasn’t without the painful days. He tackled all of those setbacks with one single lesson from his dad, Gerry, and for that, he is thankful.

“I talked about this; even going into the Masters this year, I call them heartbreaks. Maybe that’s too strong a word, but you know, disappointments. You wake up the next day on that Monday morning, and you realize that life goes on,” McIlroy told Gary Williams on the 5 Clubs podcast. “If you can look at the positives and try to learn from the negatives, you know you can go on and use that to your advantage, and that’s what I’ve had. I’ve been able to put my previous disappointments behind me, and I’ve always been an eternal optimist, always holding onto the hope that my day would come and that I would achieve what I wanted to achieve. I get that from my dad, Gerry.”

But this maturity didn’t come overnight. Gerry worked extra hours every single week just to pay for McIlroy’s golf trips. Gerry would clean toilets and showers at a local sports club in the mornings, serve as a bartender at Holywood Golf Club from 12 pm to 6 pm, then return to the sports club to work behind the bar in the evenings. His mother, Rosie, also worked late-night shifts at a big factory for many long years, and his parents never took a holiday for a decade so McIlroy could chase his dreams. His parents were working-class, humble people who didn’t mind making sacrifices for their son.

“I had no idea what else to do. I’m a working-class man. We wanted to give our only child a chance,” Gerry once said.

That’s why, when everything fell apart for the 21-year-old Rory at the 2011 Masters, who had a four-shot lead on the final day at the Masters when he hit his ball into the deep trees at hole ten and snap-hooked another ball into the cold water at the 13th hole, he couldn’t hold back his tears during a phone call to his parents after finishing tied for 15th.

Talking about that heartbreaking miss, McIlroy shared a heartwarming story.

“I spoke to them before I went to the airport on Monday. My mum might have said something like, ‘Oh, don’t worry, Rory, everything will be OK,’ and I just blubbered back, ‘No, it won’t be OK!’ At the time, it felt like the only chance I would have of winning at Augusta, and I blew it. When did I last cry over golf? I dunno—when I was a kid, probably. It’s not worth crying over, is it? It’s only a game,” McIlroy shared later.

This lesson helped him man up and win the U.S. Open two months later, and he soon added more major titles in 2012 and 2014. But the Master’s trophy remained the one piece of silver that he could not touch in the next decade. But that long wait finally ended on a historic Sunday in 2025 after many heartbreaks when he fought through a tense playoff against Justin Rose to finally wear the famous Green Jacket from last year’s winner, Scottie Scheffler.

This is why, when he finally claimed the title he had been waiting for, he thanked his parents, choking back on the tears.

“There was a lot of pent-up emotion that came out on that 18th green. But a moment like that makes all the years and all the close calls worth it. I want to say hello to my mum and dad; they’re back home in Northern Ireland. They did (make a lot of sacrifices). I can’t wait to see them next week. Just can’t wait to celebrate this with them.”

Golf is a sport that is built on sacrifice.  Jason Day’s mother cut the grass with a knife because they were too poor for a mower. Xander Schauffele’s father lived in a shipping container to help his son reach the top. Megan Khang’s father fled a war and learned golf from old magazines to coach his daughter. These stories show that every great swing is powered by a parent’s love.

Now, McIlroy has his eyes set on a different prize for the coming season.

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Rory McIlroy chases his eighth Race to Dubai title in 2026

Rory McIlroy secured his seventh Race to Dubai title and Harry Vardon Trophy, passing the Spanish legend Seve Ballesteros in the all-time European rankings. He now sits one title behind Colin Montgomerie. And Montgomerie promised he would fly to Dubai to hand McIlroy his record-tying trophy.

“There’s very little left for him after winning all the majors …. There’s one record left, and that is that eight or nine Orders of Merit, and I am sure that if he keeps fit and well, he will attain it, and I will make sure I am in Dubai and hand over that ninth trophy to him on the green,” Montgomerie told The Scotsman last November.  “What talent he has, and I am sure in years to come he will not just tie my record next year but possibly break it in the years to come. If there was one to break that record, I would rather it be him.”

And McIlroy, who defended his Race to Dubai last season and successfully defended the title once again this season after entering the season-ending DP World Tour Championship with nearly 770 points’ advantage over Marco Penge, feels Montgomerie’s record now seems within touching distance if he can keep the consistency.

“It [Montgomerie’s record] seems within touching distance now. I’d love to be the winningest European in terms of Order of Merits and season-long races. I’ve probably got a few more good years left in me, and hopefully I can catch him and surpass him,” McIlroy said.