Rory McIlroy shows true colours to wife after Masters speech backlash | Golf | Sport

Rory McIlroy made a point of thanking his wife Erica Stoll in his Masters victory speech, having notably failed to do so at Augusta one year earlier. Just 365 days on from his emotional and dramatic career Grand Slam triumph, McIlroy emphatically defended his title at the same iconic venue to claim the £3.3million first prize once again.

Having dominated Augusta across the opening two rounds of this year’s Masters, only to surrender his unprecedented six-shot lead in round three, McIlroy was forced to dig deep to see off the challenges of Cameron Young, Justin Rose and Scottie Scheffler. He saved some of his finest golf for the back nine, however, swiftly establishing a two-shot lead that he never looked like relinquishing.

He could even afford to miss a putt on the 18th hole, leaving himself with a half-foot tap-in to seal the major. As he had done 12 months previously, McIlroy took to the microphone following the presentation of his Green Jacket to deliver a speech. This time, he was clearly mindful of the backlash he had received last year for failing to specifically mention his wife Stoll.

He more than made amends on this occasion, making a deliberate point of singling her out. In his speech, McIlroy noted: “This is the hard part. I want to say a few thank yous to the people on my left. First and foremost, my wife and daughter, Erica and Poppy.

“They have to put up with me at home and, trust me, sometimes that’s a tough thing to do. But they have been my biggest supporters.

“This has definitely turned into Poppy’s favourite week of the year. I don’t know if it’s because of the Par 3 Tournament or it’s the all-you-can eat ice cream in the players’ services building.”

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He also addressed his parents, who were absent for his Masters victory last year, saying: “And also, I want to thank-not thank, jeez. My mom and dad. They weren’t here last year to celebrate with us (last year).

“Surprisingly, I had to convince them to come this year, because they thought that the reason that I won was because they weren’t here. So I’m glad that we proved that wrong. But mom and dad, I owe everything to you. You are the most wonderful parents. If I can be half the parent to Poppy as you were to me, then I know I’ve done a good job.”

Ultimately, the final leaderboard showed McIlroy ahead by one stroke, though his victory was significantly more straightforward than his win last year, when he required a play-off hole to defeat Rose.

When the career Grand Slam was secured, McIlroy ended up in the play-off after missing a four-foot putt to seal the Masters on the 18th. He did so once more this year, though this time he held a two-shot lead, meaning his half-foot putt to claim his second Masters title was more of a formality rather than a nerve-shredding moment.

He might well have preferred a more commanding victory, having built a six-shot advantage after the opening two rounds, only to see it slip away with a below-par third-round display.

Nevertheless, in the fourth round, he showed tremendous resilience when it mattered most, to become only the fourth player after Jack Nicklaus, Sir Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods to successfully defend the Masters title.