What Paul McGinley was ‘so fed up’ of hearing about Rory McIlroy before he won his first ever Masters title

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Rory McIlroy has joined a handful of golfing legends after his win at The Masters, having completed the career grand slam.

McIlroy won The Masters in his own manner, having blown a two-shot lead heading into Sunday at Augusta.

He finished on 11-under after four rounds, level with fellow European Justin Rose, with McIlroy then defeating the Englishman in a sudden-death playoff.

Bryson DeChambeau returned to Pinehurst just one day after The Masters, having been paired with McIlroy in the final round at Augusta.

But the LIV Golf star fell back to finish T5 at the first major of 2025, with McIlroy now already on three wins for the season.

Paul McGinley ‘so fed up’ of Rory McIlroy critics before his win at The Masters

He also triumphed at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the Players Championship, but it was his 11th attempt in which he managed to complete the career grand slam.

Talk of that drought has, however, annoyed Paul McGinley for some time, with the Irishman saying on Beyond the Clubhouse: “I think the game needed a number of things.

READ MORE: What Rory McIlroy’s Dad said to him over the phone immediately after watching him win The Masters

“It needed a mega star again. Rory is no doubt the most charismatic player in the game, up there with Bryson and I think the fact that he has won the grand slam has moved him ahead as the most charismatic and identified player in the sport.

“It needed that. There has been a lot of grubbiness and wrong talk about golf over the last two or three years with the division and the split and the acrimony and all the stuff that has gone on.

“It needed some positive headlines. Then on top of that it needed Rory to come through and win a major again.

“I’m so fed up of the criticism he has got and the what if, despite the fact he was such a dominant player on the last 10 years on both DP World Tour as well as European Tour, obviously the stick that he was constantly beaten with was the majors and he has lost it and he hasn’t got the heart or the bottle and all of those things.

“He knew that as well and the pressure that was on him on Sunday was ginormous, so I am thrilled for him as a person more than anything else, that he has come through that and come out the other side and the criticism will now have to go to bed.”

Rory McIlroy has every chance of more major success after what happened at The Masters

McIlroy clinched his first major championship all the way back in 2011, when he stormed to the US Open title.

He then won twice at the PGA Championship and once at The Open Championship, all within just three years of his maiden success.

READ MORE: Jon Rahm reacts to Rory McIlroy winning The Masters for the first time with statement on social media

Many near misses featured along the way, but McIlroy has finally ended his drought, and with that has undoubtedly silenced many of his critics.

The Northern Irishman absolutely did not deserve such critics, who should have instead focused on his immense success over the years.

It took a real physical and mental effort to get over the line, with the latter area of his game and his character coming to the fore after he missed a putt to win the tournament on the 18th hole.

Importantly, the success is very likely to have relieved a huge amount of stress on McIlroy and a heavy burden on his shoulders, meaning more major success is very much on the cards.