Rory McIlroy heaps praise on parents as daughter Poppy also gets golf bug

In his press conference for this week’s 90th Masters, the defending champion also talked about how it’s been a thrill for him to see daughter Poppy becoming more interested in the game after enjoying a special moment in last year’s Par 3 event at Augusta National.

McIlroy, who joined Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as the only players to win all four men’s majors, was asked about mum Rosie and dad Gerry after they featured in a documentary called Rory McIlroy: The Masters wait that is now streaming on Prime Video.

“They were stars of the show, yeah,” he declared before giving a great answer in reply to being asked to talk about the life values and belief that they had instilled and how it had manifested.

“Yeah, I think you all know, especially the Irish guys, my mom and dad have always been very reluctant to say anything or go on camera, but I thought that the documentary wouldn't be the same if because we did go back a little bit into the childhood and into the upbringing, it wouldn't have felt complete if we didn't hear from them.

“Again, knowing how they feel about it all, I would have been absolutely fine if they didn't want to do it, but they were willing to participate. I thought they did an amazing job.

“I think in terms of what they instilled in me, I think work ethic is something that -- my mom worked night shifts. My dad worked multiple jobs. I think most people in this room know that. That was normal for me. That was normal as an upbringing.

“I never spent a lot of time with my parents together. It was either with my dad or with my mom because always the other one was working.

‘They sacrificed a lot’

“Because they knew their son had a dream to play golf, and golf is a less expensive sport to play in Ireland, but it's still a pretty expensive game to have to drive your son to different golf clubs and play in tournaments and golf equipment and everything else. So they sacrificed a lot.

“I think that that work ethic, that's the thing I feel like they instilled in me the most and the belief. I talk about my dad being an eternal optimist and being able to see a silver lining in the worst of days, and I feel like that's what he's given me as well.

“Obviously incredibly blessed to have amazing parents. Lucky that they're here this week to see everything unfold like this, and hopefully they have a lot of Masters left in them. We're excited for that as well.”

Just three at the time, Poppy holed a putt in last year’s Par 3 event that went viral as both her dad and Shane Lowry celebrated wildly after it had trickled down the slope on the ninth green before toppling into the hole.

“I'd say watching my daughter grow up,” said McIlroy after being asked what had brought him the most joy away from the game over the past 12 months.

“Poppy, like she's a mini Erica (his wife). It's like living with two of them, which is great a lot of the time. She is the most unbelievably polite and respectful and well-behaved little girl, and I really love that she started to get into the game a lot more, and it all stemmed from the putt last year at the Par 3.

‘Poppy has her own putter this year’

“So she made sure that I brought her putter up this year so she could hit the putt with her putter and not mine.

“Yeah, just to see her grow up to have her travel the world to see different places, to give her a life that I could only dream about when I was that age, that's been the coolest thing.”

As, of course, will be McIlroy’s first appearance at the traditional Champions Dinner in the clubhouse on Tuesday night, when, unfortunately, both Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson will not be in attendance due to missing this year’s event because of personal reasons.

“I've thought about it a lot,” he said of what he planned to say in his address to the other former winners and Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley.

“Honestly, I've probably thought about that more than the food. So many legends of the game there. Obviously there's two that won't be with us this year, which is a shame, but I'm sure they will be with us in the future.

“But talking in front of that group, I want to say the right things and make sure I get my feelings across of how grateful I am to be a part of that group. I'll follow Ben Crenshaw's lead. I know he'll direct the run of the show a little bit.

“But, yeah, I have a few remarks that I want to make. I'm not going to say it all here, I'll wait for tonight, but I have thought about it a lot.”