Tiger Woods welcomed Rory McIlroy to golf\u2019s most exclusive club after his dramatic victory in the 89th Masters.<\/p>\n
McIlroy defeated Justin Rose on the first hole of a play-off at Augusta National to join Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Ben Hogan and Gene Sarazen in having won all four major titles.<\/p>\n
\u201cWelcome to the club @McIlroyRory,\u201d Woods posted on social media.<\/p>\n
\u201cCompleting the grand slam at Augusta is something special. Your determination during this round, and this entire journey has shown through, and now you\u2019re a part of history. Proud of you!\u201d<\/p>\n
McIlroy\u2019s close friend Shane Lowry joked that McIlroy could happily retire after completing the career grand slam.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis means everything to him,\u201d Lowry told Golf Channel.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is all he thinks about, all he talks about. He always said to me he\u2019d retire a happy man if he won the green jacket, so I told Erica (McIlroy\u2019s wife) he can retire now.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s had a long 10, 11 years, he\u2019s had a lot of hurdles to get over and it\u2019s a credit to him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tommy Fleetwood, who finished 21st after a closing 69, added: \u201cI\u2019ve said it a bunch of times, I think Rory is the best player of our generation. I don\u2019t think he\u2019s had to prove that for a while.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor him to have finally got this one, a career grand slam, is unbelievably special. I think this time was always going to come, it\u2019s just Rory makes you feel like it\u2019s not going to at some point.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhatever he did today, Rory\u2019s place in golf (history) was secure, but this has just added another layer on top of that.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do believe he\u2019s the best of our generation and now he\u2019s one of the greatest of all time.\u201d<\/p>\n
The President of Ireland Michael D Higgins joined political leaders from across the island in celebrating McIlroy\u2019s victory, calling it a \u201ctruly outstanding achievement\u201d.<\/p>\n
Northern Ireland\u2019s First Minister Michelle O\u2019Neill said the Holywood golfer\u2019s \u201cincredible\u201d triumph placed him among the sport\u2019s greatest.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a huge moment in sporting history, and one that has filled everyone back home with great pride and that will undoubtedly inspire future generations to chase their dreams,\u201d she posted on X.<\/p>\n
\u201cEnjoy the well-deserved celebrations, Rory!\u201d<\/p>\n
Irish premier Micheal Martin described the win as \u201cepic\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Green Jacket is yours Rory McIlroy,\u201d the Taoiseach posted on X.<\/p>\n
\u201cA finish for the ages at Augusta to win The Masters and complete a richly-deserved career Grand Slam. Epic achievement by one of golf\u2019s greatest talents.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Tiger Woods welcomed Rory McIlroy to golf\u2019s most exclusive club after his dramatic victory in the 89th Masters. McIlroy defeated Justin Rose on the first hole of a play-off at Augusta National to join Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Ben Hogan and Gene Sarazen in having won all four major titles. \u201cWelcome to the club @McIlroyRory,\u201d Woods posted on social media. \u201cCompleting the grand slam at Augusta is something special. Your determination during this round, and this entire journey has […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":29394,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[445,9],"tags":[808,3076,550,695,590,765],"class_list":["post-29393","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","category-golf-news","tag-augusta-national","tag-grand-slam","tag-rory-mcilroy","tag-shane-lowry","tag-tiger-woods","tag-tommy-fleetwood"],"yoast_head":"\n