Tranlate this title Former Open champion on why Rory McIlroy is different from many golfers in spanish

Rory McIlroy’s career has had many ups and downs, but it seems the Northern Irish golfer came out of all of them even stronger and managed to achieve the goals he had set for himself.

Although he was criticized for years because he had not won the Masters, the 37-year-old finally ended that negative run last year when he produced one of the biggest achievements of his career.

Rory McIlroy has been one of the main figures in golf for a long time, while Stewart Cink believes there is something quite rare about the Northern Irishman.

Rory has achieved many things during his career, winning some of the biggest tournaments and becoming one of the most recognizable golfers of his generation.

The 37-year-old finally completed the Career Grand Slam at the 2025 Masters, ending a long wait for the title at Augusta National.

Cink recently recalled speaking with McIlroy after that victory and pointed out how difficult the final part of the tournament was.

“The main thing I remember telling him was how proud I was for him that he followed through on that and won, because it’s just something not many people have done, and that doesn’t need to be stated, that’s pretty understood by everybody,” Cink said.

“But the thing that struck me about the moment when he won was he probably faced the one putt with the single most pressure; the par putt on 18, which was about a five-footer, maybe six-feet, outside right, lot of break to the left, all that riding on it; name a putt that had more pressure on it than that. You can’t. In all the history of golf, I think that was the putt.”

McIlroy missed that putt and was forced into a playoff, where he eventually found a way to win.

Cink believes McIlroy has something rare

The former Open champion then spoke about the way McIlroy is viewed by other golfers and fans.

There are players who become very popular among the public but perhaps do not have the same relationship with their colleagues. According to Cink, McIlroy belongs to a different group.

“Everybody wants Rory to win. He’s so likeable. There’s not that many players in the history of the game that are well-liked by the public and by the peers,” he said.

“Sometimes, there’s a little bit of a difference between the two groups. Rory’s well-liked and embraced by all groups, and for good reason.

I just wanted him to understand that’s how I felt about it. I thought that putt was incredibly high pressure-packed.”

The American veteran also stressed how difficult it was for Rory to recover mentally after missing his opportunity on the 18th.

“And of course, what happened? He went into a playoff because he didn’t make the putt, but I just thought it was worth saying, hey, that was a hard putt.

I don’t think many people watching golf can understand how much pressure that was and how he would have felt over that putt. So for him to go on through that miss and win in a playoff with all that riding on it was pretty awesome, and that’s what I told him.”

McIlroy had tried for years to complete the Career Grand Slam after winning the other three different Grand Slam tournaments earlier in his career.

Augusta remained the missing trophy for a long time before he finally ended that wait in 2025.

Cink and McIlroy go back a long way

Cink has known what it is like to compete against McIlroy for many years.

Their history includes the 2010 Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor, which was McIlroy’s first appearance in the competition.

The Northern Irishman was only 21 at the time and had not yet won a Grand Slam tournament.

Cink was on the other side representing the United States. The pair met several times during the week, including the singles, where neither player managed to take the full point.

McIlroy and Cink halved their singles match, while Europe eventually defeated the United States 14.5-13.5.

Much has changed since then.

McIlroy went from being one of the most talented young golfers to a player who has spent years near the top of the game and collected many major trophies.

Cink also continued his long career and later moved to PGA Tour Champions.

The American is now set to work as a US vice-captain at the 2027 Ryder Cup at Adare Manor, while McIlroy is expected to again have an important role for Europe if he qualifies.

Their careers have therefore crossed several times over more than 15 years.

McIlroy now puts his focus on the final part of the 2026 season. He remains in the battle for another Race to Dubai title, with events in Abu Dhabi and Dubai among the biggest tournaments left on his schedule.

Cink is not the only person who has praised the experienced golfer. Many important figures in golf have also been delighted with Rory’s progress, his character, leadership and qualities as a person.