What Greg Norman said to Rory McIlroy after his collapse at The Masters in 2011 which ‘stuck’ with him

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Rory McIlroy won his first Green Jacket in 2025, but in reality, he should have won it much sooner.

In 2011, at the age of 21, Rory McIlroy looked set to win his first major championship at Augusta National. He held a four-shot lead going into Sunday after shooting seven under on the first day, but what happened next would haunt him for the next 14 years. 

McIlroy’s lead was reduced to one after nine holes. He then triple-bogeyed the 10th, three-putted the 11th, and four-putted the 12th from inside 20 feet to throw away his advantage. The Northern Irishman failed to break 80 after leading going into the final day. 

No one could have predicted that his next best chance to win at Augusta would come in 2025, when McIlroy finally won the Masters to complete the career grand slam, especially with how he responded immediately after the meltdown. 

McIlroy won his next major start, the 2011 US Open, putting the demons from The Masters to bed at Congressional Country Club. But the young superstar didn’t do it alone. Greg Norman gave him some advice that allowed McIlroy to regain his mental strength. 

What Greg Norman told Rory McIlroy after Masters meltdown

McIlroy has been at the center of a media whirlwind since his meteoric rise to world number one. And it’s something that he’s always seemed to struggle with.

He said how difficult it was to see the media coverage of his Masters performance, and it was two-time major winner Norman who advised him to stay away from the headlines.

Speaking to The Guardian in 2011, McIlroy explained: “On that Sunday of the Masters, I remember turning on ESPN to find people talking about me. I switched over to the Golf Channel, and people were talking about me. It was hard to escape. 

“Greg Norman said something to me afterwards that stuck; that any outside influence you let into your bubble can be detrimental, even if it’s just an article in a newspaper.

“You have to have a lot of self-discipline not to read and watch anything about yourself, but that’s what I will try to do from now on.”

McIlroy’s bouts with the media never truly stopped, and that’s been especially apparent in recent years. He was at the forefront of a battle against Norman during the rise of LIV Golf, acting as the face of the PGA Tour. 

McIlroy was frosty with the media after his Masters win this year and said he needed to hide from the attention when he returned home for The Open Championship. 

It’s simply part of his character, and something that works in his favour as motivation, but clearly haunted him in key moments throughout his career.

Rory McIlroy’s media silence was a blemish on his best-ever season

McIlroy’s 2025 season could be considered the best of his career. He won at Pebble Beach and The Players, completed the career grand slam at Augusta National, and won an away Ryder Cup. 

But he did have a poor run of form midway through the season, and that coincided with him picking a fight with the media.

After his Masters victory, McIlroy decided to shut the press out completely. He chose to skip media interviews during the PGA Championship after a leak about his non-conforming driver. McIlroy felt singled out by the media, as a number of players faced the same issue. 

But as he decided to battle with the media, McIlroy’s red-hot form vanished. He finished T47 at the PGA Championship, then McIlroy missed the cut at the Canadian Open. It wasn’t until he returned home and reset at the Scottish Open that he brought himself back into contention. 

The media clearly got to McIlroy during that stretch, proving Norman’s point exactly right. If he wants to maintain a level of consistency throughout the year like Scottie Scheffler, he still needs to learn to shut everything out.