Rory McIlroy reveals five-word message from Tiger Woods after Masters win

Tiger Woods only needed five words to congratulate Rory McIlroy on his defining victory at Augusta National. 

With his Masters win, McIlroy of course completed the career grand slam, joining the game’s most exclusive club occupied by only Woods and four others.

Woods, not present at Augusta, instead sent McIlroy a simple, yet deeply profound text message:

 “Welcome to the club, kid.”

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McIlroy revealed the message during an appearance on the Tonight Show, wearing his new green jacket.

“Six people ever have achieved the Grand Slam in golf,” McIlroy continued in conversation with show host Jimmy Fallon. “Only four of us are living. You know, Gary Player is 90 years old, Jack (Nicklaus) is 85 or 86, then there’s Tiger and myself. It’s really cool to be a part of.”

Woods, of course, was not the only prominent figure to reach out to McIlroy after his dramatic win.

“I was sort of overwhelmed with the people who reached out from all different walks of life, you know, culture, entertainment,” McIlroy said.

“But the one that got me was Sir Elton John. That was incredible. I haven’t actually been able to connect with him.

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“His assistant left me a voicemail and said, ‘Sir Elton would love to congratulate you in person. The only problem is he doesn’t have a cell phone, so you might get a call from a number in Windsor, England, from a landline,’ and I’m like ‘Sure!’

“But we haven’t been able to connect, so I would love to reach out. But it’s Elton John, it’s so cool. I didn’t know Elton John even knew what golf was.

“It’s awesome and I’ve been super humbled by the number of people who have reached out. It’s been really cool.”

McIlroy makes his next start at the $20million Truist Championship in Philadelphia next week, before heading to Quail Hollow for the PGA Championship from May 15-18.

Ben Parsons is the Senior Writer at bunkered and is the man to come to for all of the latest news, across both the professional and amateur games. Formerly of The Mirror and Press Association, he is a member at Halifax Golf Club and is a long-suffering fan of both Manchester United and the Wales rugby team.