MCILROY SAVOURS CAREER GRAND SLAM TO ATTAIN GOLF IMMORTALITY

What is true about Rory McIlroy's recent win at the Masters Tournament that completed a rare distinction - the career Grand Slam - is that it proves how our esteemed philosophers who came before us were true visionaries.

- by Jim McCabe

“It’s not the destination, it’s the journey.”

That profound thought is credited to an American essayist, writer, poet, and philosopher named Ralph Waldo Emerson. He lived from 1803-1882, didn’t care nor know a lick about golf, but he sure could comprehend the human spirit. Likely, Emerson would not be that intrigued by the April 13 playoff win over Justin Rose that enabled McIlroy to win his first Green Jacket and secure the career Grand Slam; but we're quite sure Emerson would have truly appreciated and understand why the vast majority of golf fans joined in the revelry and saluted McIlroy’s feat in an outpouring of emotions.

Golf fans specifically and people in general have no clue what it was like for McIlroy to survive a roller-coaster second nine that Sunday - a horrific double-bogey at 13, a momentous second shot to set up birdie at the 15th, a missed short putt at the 72nd hole that would have clinched victory - and win in a playoff. We aren’t in possession of his talents so we can’t appreciate the athleticism that he is able to put forth almost on whim. Ah, but we can commiserate with his shortcomings, his failures, and his disappointments because those elements fill out lives, too.

In other words, McIlroy's collapse to the 18th green in the playoff against Rose resonated with millions of fans around the world not because we can relate to his talents, but because we feel connected to his commitment to be resilient and to rise from the ashes of disappointment, challenges we face every day.

None of us can carve a 7-iron from 208 yards with a high, sweeping right-to-left ball flight and land the ball 6 feet from the hole, as McIlroy did in crunch time in Round 4. But all of us can speak to the challenge of moving forward after a setback in our lives.