Rory McIlroy is on the cusp of an iconic achievement.
Only Tiger Woods, Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus have ever won all four of golf's major tournaments. McIlroy will look to be the sixth after next week's Masters at Augusta National.
Tiger Woods Players Masters Practice Round at Augusta National
Admittedly, the 25-year-old should already have joined that iconic list. Leading by four shots going into the last day in 2011, McIlroy dropped six in three holes and ended with an abysmal final round of 80.
It's a day McIlroy describes as the most important of his career.
"I learned so much about myself and what I needed to do the next time I got into that position," he said (via BBC). If I had not had the whole unravelling, if I had just made a couple of bogeys coming down the stretch and lost by one, I would not have learned as much."
"Luckily, it did not take me long to get into a position like that again when I was leading a major and I was able to get over the line quite comfortably," he added. "It was a huge learning curve for me and I needed it, and thankfully I have been able to move on to bigger and better things."
"Looking back on what happened in 2011, it doesn't seem as bad when you have four majors on your mantelpiece."
The 2011 U.S. Open, the 2012 PGA Championship, the 2014 Open Championship and the 2014 PGA Championship are the four McIlroy is referring to. Should the 2015 Masters join alongside them, it would be the first time an Irishman triumphs at Augusta.
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