Rory glory after 'tough defeats'

TWO days before the start of the 89th Masters, Rory McIlroy and Justin Rose were invited to dinner by a few members of Augusta National.

- PHIL CASEY

Next year McIlroy will have somewhere else to be on a Tuesday evening in early April, namely at the Champions Dinner following the almost indescribable victory which made him just the sixth player to win a career grand slam.

"It's ironic how these things happen," McIlroy said after making a birdie at the first extra hole to secure a coveted green jacket, inflicting a second Masters play-off loss on the unfortunate Rose.

"We were invited to a dinner by a few members of the club on Tuesday night, and we were the only two players at that table, and we are the ones that end up being in the play-off. It's funny how these things work.

"Justin is a great champion.

And I remember watching the play-off in '17 when he went up against Sergio [Garcia], and that didn't quite go his way either.