Justin Rose would have been forgiven for feeling slightly uncomfortable for being the man standing between Rory McIlroy and sporting immortality at The Masters last month.
Justin Rose produced a Sunday masterclass to force his way into a playoff at The Masters. There is an argument that Rory McIlroy will never play a more important single hole of golf than the second time he walked down the 18th that day at Augusta National.
Ultimately, McIlroy got the job done and completed the career grand slam. Rose was praised for his reaction after McIlroy’s victory. It was particularly impressive given that it was not the first time that the Englishman had been beaten in a playoff at The Masters – and by one of his Ryder Cup teammates no less.
There was also a brilliant moment with Rose’s caddie, Mark Fulcher, who embraced McIlroy as he continued to try to regain his composure after his triumph.
What Justin Rose’s caddie said about Rory McIlroy ahead of the PGA Championship
It would be understandable if the pair found it difficult in the moment to come to terms with what happened. But they both conducted themselves with an amazing amount of class considering the agony of finishing second in a major once again.
And it seems that the praise for McIlroy has continued in the weeks since, as Rich Lerner explained to Golf Channel ahead of the PGA Championship this week.
“We ran into Justin Rose’s caddie last night, at dinner, everybody knows him as Fooch, and he said he thought Rory would win 10 major championships when all is said and done,” he said.
Paul McGinley suggests how many more majors Rory McIlroy will win
Of course, McIlroy is already approaching the levels of the greatest players the game has ever seen. Only five other players have won all four majors. And only 12 others have won more majors than the 36-year-old overall.
But it seems that many are expecting that to change drastically. Paul McGinley believes that McIlroy could have an even more successful second chapter in his career ahead now.
“I think and we have said it a number of times, if he wins one he will win three or four. I still believe that. I think there is certainly more majors to come from him. You talk about the age of 35 onwards. Jack won six times after that. Phil won five times after that age. I think Rory will be the same,” he said.
“The reason why I say that is I think he is a more complete player now. You just look at his statistics at The Masters. He would not have won with these statistics five years ago.
“Seventh off the tee, first in approach, around the green he was 10th and around putting he was 43rd out of the 53 that made the cut. Those statistics are not the Rory McIlroy statistics when he won earlier in his career.
“I think he is a more complete player now. He is in a better place mentally and he can win with his B game. That is the big difference I see about Rory. He did not play his best in Augusta and he won, he did not play his best in TPC and he won, and he played really well in Pebble Beach and he won comfortably.”
The big question now is how McIlroy’s Masters win will impact his desire in future majors. It is not long now until the golfing world gets its answer.
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