World No.1 wins Masters in dominant fashion
“It’s what you dream about, right? You dream about getting yourself in position – I wasn’t quite close enough to the lead, I don’t think, Scottie’s playing really, really, well,” he said after his round.
“But to play as well as I did today and then to finish to finish like this – it’s absolutely incredible.
“This tournament never ceases to amaze. That’s as happy as I’ve ever been on a golf course, right there.”
He was full of praise for his playing partner Colin Morikawa, who matched his amazing birdie effort on 18 from the same bunker.
The pair shot a combined -13 for the round.
“We both played so well all day and for both of us to finish like this, I was just so happy for him too. I’ve never heard roars like it on an 18th green, it was really cool,” McIlroy said.”
“That’s what makes golf so cool – we’re competitors out there but at the same time we’re friends and we travel around with each other every week. Colin’s a great guy, it was a great pairing for me today. I’m happy that we both played well.”
McIlroy is in the clubhouse now, but does he think he could potentially be out on the course again if there’s a tie for the lead?
“No, I don’t think so,” he said with a wry smile.
“Scottie’s got a couple of tricky holes coming up but he’s just hit a close one on 14 there and if he knocks that in he’s got a four-shot cushion with four holes to play so I’ve probably come up a little bit short but I gave it a great go.
“I can’t ask anymore of myself – I went out there today, shot my best-ever score at Augusta and it’s going to be my best finish ever, but not quite good enough.”
Since Rory spoke, Scheffler has knocked that in and would now need a massive implosion to lose the green jacket.