Rory McIlroy winning The Masters this past week felt like one of the sport’s most significant moments; a moment which will see fans in the future discuss where they were and how they watched the Northern Irishman win the one major which had eluded him.
It was clear just what the win at Augusta National meant to Rory McIlroy. The 35-year-old collapsed on the spot in which he had secured golfing immortality. Meanwhile, it is hard to remember a time when the patrons have been more passionate about a winner, even after watching Tiger Woods return to the top of the mountain in 2019.
McIlroy has been a Masters win away from completing the career grand slam for 11 years. In truth, he had rarely come close to ending that wait over the last decade.
But he confirmed his spot as the best golfer in 2025 with his third win of the year.
Nelly Korda issues her verdict as Rory McIlroy completes the career grand slam
Of course, one person who knows what it is like to win a raft of events in a short space of time is Nelly Korda, with the world number one winning six times in seven starts at one stage in 2024. That run included the first major of the year, the Chevron Championship.
And speaking ahead of the JM Eagle LA Championship, Korda was asked for her reaction to McIlroy’s achievement. She did go on to make an admission regarding how much time she had spent watching the tournament.
“Yeah, hats off to him. Such an amazing accomplishment. But I did not watch at all. I don’t think I watched one shot of that final round. I didn’t even watch the Masters too much this year. I followed along mainly on social media,” she said.
“Yeah, hats off to him. That’s such an amazing accomplishment, especially with all the outside noise, all the pressure leading up to it. For him to kind of set that aside and go out there and play golf, especially with the kind of mistakes that he was making also during his round, is incredible to see. Very impressive.”
Korda reacts as new golf event is added to the 2028 Olympic Games
Korda has two majors under her belt, with three more to go in the current era before she becomes the latest career grand slam winner in the women’s game.
But something she has accomplished which McIlroy is yet to do is win an Olympic medal. Korda sealed gold in Tokyo in 2021.
You would think that the 2028 event will be on her radar already given that she did struggle in Paris last year, and that will be held in Los Angeles.
And it appears that Korda could have two attempts at winning a medal, with a two-day team event being added for when Riviera hosts. Unsurprisingly, the 26-year-old suggested that she was delighted with the decision.
“Yeah, I think it’s amazing. I know there has been a lot of talk about it for the last couple years. I think it’s what will make the Olympics even more special, and I think it’s another great way to grow the game,” she added.
“You know, in a sense you kind of go into the Olympics and you always felt like you were playing another event, so this will be a really special component to the Olympics I think.”
Obviously, there is still some time to go before the next Olympics, but you would imagine that many will be looking at a potential pairing of Korda and Scottie Scheffler – both of whom already have gold medals individually – and imagining that they will unbelievably difficult to beat.
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