ATLANTA – Rory McIlroy did not leave Augusta National as Masters Champion without a last purchase from the gift shop.
He said there are 1,100 pin flags remaining at the Masters Shop.
“And we took all 1,100,” McIlroy was his most memorable for Sunday, April 1st, ahead of the Tour Championship on Tuesday, ahead of the end of the PGA Tour season.
“It was a lot,” he said of the flag he signed. “But I’m not tired of signing them. I’ve been waiting 17 years to sign that flag in the middle, and I’m not going to complain about doing it.”
While players always sign flags for fans, the golf protocol is that only the Masters Champion will sign his name within the US contours, which are part of golf’s most famous logo.
It’s only four months since McIlroy came to an exhilarating end to his 17-year pursuit of winning the Green Jacket, making a birdie on the first playoff hole to beat Justin Rose to complete his career grand slam.
He hasn’t won since, and sometimes he talked about finding a motive. But being a Masters champion is not old. He is already planning a trip to Augusta National. Luxury was given to the champions.
If anything surprised him, it was a year’s ownership of the Masters Green Jacket.
He barely wears it.
McIlroy said he wore it all night until he went to bed around 3:30am, then woke up and experienced the sensations that many others have. He saw his jacket covered in a chair. It reminds me that it’s not all a dream.
He wore it during a brief appearance at the Golf Writers Association dinner during the British Open. Otherwise, opportunities would have been rare.
“I’m reluctant to wear it,” he said. “It’s not like I’m wearing it too much. I hang in my wardrobe where I can see it every day. I’d always never have been a master.
McIlroy said he is traveling with friends who have been friends over the years and members of the Augusta national. He must wear a green jacket at the club.
“I always said that some of my favourite times at Augusta were when it wasn’t the Masters Tournament,” he said. “But it’s nice to go there next time and go to the Champions locker room and wear my green jacket and feel like I belong.”