Mission accomplished: greatness achieved.
There might have been some debate before. But not once you join a list that, in all of history, has just Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods on it. That is not so much greatness as immortality.
The Rory Slam is finally complete. It only took 11 years to apply the finishing touch and complete the set of all four of golf’s majors. No rush, Rory.
Of course, he did not do it the easy way. When has Rory McIlroy ever done things the easy way?
The last stretch of his struggle to a first green jacket was his career in microcosm: full of extraordinary highs and crushing lows, with perhaps three shots of a lifetime in the space of five holes, interspersed with some sheer madness.
He gave away his overnight two-stroke lead at the first available opportunity, with a six at the first, seemingly just to sharpen his focus.
He dunked a chip into Raes Creek from less than 90 yards when he had the vast expanse of the 13th green at his mercy.
He had two double bogeys on his card (and four for the tournament). He shot 38 on the back nine. He found the greenside bunker at the 18th when he was just 125 yards out and in prime position. He missed a putt to win it from holeable range at the 72nd hole.
Then, at the 73rd, in direct conflict now with Justin Rose in a shoot out for the Masters title, he locked in, got down in three, and all those years of hurt evaporated.
The emotions poured out of him in, as he curled up into a ball and cried tears of joy or relief, whatever they were, on the green.
He embraced his wife, Erica, hugged daughter, Poppy, and was all but overcome. Shane Lowry, his closest pal on tour – since before they were pros, even – enveloped him in a bear hug.
He had just about gathered himself together by the end of a long line of embraces, by which point he announced to his mates: “Right, time to go get a green jacket.”
It is no surprise so many people wanted to share in his triumph. As the adage goes, success has a thousand fathers, and failure is an orphan.
It is a marker of the esteem in which McIlroy is held that, even in his most troubled times, few have ever wanted to disassociate themselves from him. His misses only ever made him even more lovable.
"I'd like to start this press conference with a question myself," McIlroy said as he entered the interview room donning his new green jacket.
"What are we all going to talk about next year?" he said with a laugh.
"I have dreamt about that moment for as long as I can remember."
McIlroy manages to wear his emotions without histrionics. It is all sincere. When he was received in the Butler Cabin, and helped into his new sports jacket by Scottie Scheffler, the host said McIlroy’s reaction had been “the most authentic” we have seen in a long time.
Why wouldn’t it be? As always, this is Rory in the raw. There is no artifice. He has never had to manufacture a persona. There is no content producing for a YouTube channel.
He has brought the drama with his deeds on the course, and he has been doing it for long enough that everyone feels an affinity with him.
Even in Dubai, for example, we have always regarded him as one of our own. As much as they do in Holywood, at his actual home in Northern Ireland, pretty much.
He won the first two of his now five majors with Jumeirah Hotels and Resorts logos on his kit. Even once Nike took over his sponsorship, which was perhaps the ultimate recognition that he had become a golfing universe boss, we still felt like there was a part share still there for us.
The galleries at Augusta National – full of patrons, not fans, remember – welcomed him with standing ovations at the majority of the 73 holes he played.
He was going up against an All-American Hero over the main part of the final day. Bryson DeChambeau and McIlroy are very different characters, but the sonic boom which welcomed McIlroy’s nerve-settling birdie at the third told the story of who most were supporting.
Even by McIlroy standards, it was drama piled on drama. There were three two-shot swings in the space of the first six holes.
It is often said the Masters only starts during the last nine holes of the final day. What went before that was spellbinding, but it was true that what followed was sport at its very best.
At the par-5 13th, McIlroy went uncharacteristically conservative and laid up. It felt like a smart move, because he had the simplest of chips into the green from the left side of the fairway.
Yet, inexplicably, he dunked his 83-yard approach into the creek. That led to a double-bogey seven. Within moments Rose joined him for a tie for the lead at 11 under.
When McIlroy followed up with a bogey at the next, the commentator solemnly declared, “Justin Rose leads the Masters,” as though they were making a public announcement about a death.
From then on, there was no laying up. After all, the boy next door is at his best when he’s living on the edge, anyway.
When he played the most extraordinary approach to 15, a curving, drawing 7-iron from 200 yards out, it turned the patrons of genteel Augusta into a rabid football crowd, bellowing: “Rory! Rory! Rory!”
It was described on the US broadcast as “the shot of a lifetime.” Two holes later, he played another shot of a lifetime, lining himself up for a birdie on the 17th.
And his tee shot at the 72nd hole was so good that Nick Faldo even took a break from talking about himself on commentary to rate it as an “11 out of 10”.
Not that it counted for everything. His next two shots were not quite so sharp, meaning he had to face a play-off with Rose.
Finally, then, he got the job done as he made birdie to win it at the first extra hole. And there it was: the set of all four of golf’s majors now, finally, completed by McIlroy.
"There was points on the back nine today, I thought, you know, have I let this slip again? But I responded with some clutch shots when I needed to, and I'm really proud of myself for that," said McIlroy.
"I certainly didn't make it easy today. I was nervous. It was one of the toughest days I've ever had on the golf course.
“You have to be the eternal optimist,” he said of his 11-year wait for another major. “I have made all my dreams come true.”
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Company%20profile
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WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Sav%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202021%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Purvi%20Munot%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20FinTech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%24750%2C000%20as%20of%20March%202023%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Angel%20investors%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The advice provided in our columns does not constitute legal advice and is provided for information only. Readers are encouraged to seek independent legal advice.
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The years Ramadan fell in May
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
If you go
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct to Nairobi, with fares starting from Dh1,695. The resort can be reached from Nairobi via a 35-minute flight from Wilson Airport or Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, or by road, which takes at least three hours.
The rooms
Rooms at Fairmont Mount Kenya range from Dh1,870 per night for a deluxe room to Dh11,000 per night for the William Holden Cottage.
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The five pillars of Islam
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
'Gehraiyaan'
Director:Shakun Batra
Stars:Deepika Padukone, Siddhant Chaturvedi, Ananya Panday, Dhairya Karwa
Rating: 4/5
Company%20profile
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Reading List
Practitioners of mindful eating recommend the following books to get you started:
Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life by Thich Nhat Hanh and Dr Lilian Cheung
How to Eat by Thich Nhat Hanh
The Mindful Diet by Dr Ruth Wolever
Mindful Eating by Dr Jan Bays
How to Raise a Mindful Eaterby Maryann Jacobsen
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
GOODBYE%20JULIA
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The years Ramadan fell in May
Founders: Ines Mena, Claudia Ribas, Simona Agolini, Nourhan Hassan and Therese Hundt
Date started: January 2017, app launched November 2017
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Private/Retail/Leisure
Number of Employees: 18 employees, including full-time and flexible workers
Funding stage and size: Seed round completed Q4 2019 - $1m raised
Funders: Oman Technology Fund, 500 Startups, Vision Ventures, Seedstars, Mindshift Capital, Delta Partners Ventures, with support from the OQAL Angel Investor Network and UAE Business Angels
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
THE BIO
Family: I have three siblings, one older brother (age 25) and two younger sisters, 20 and 13
Favourite book: Asking for my favourite book has to be one of the hardest questions. However a current favourite would be Sidewalk by Mitchell Duneier
Favourite place to travel to: Any walkable city. I also love nature and wildlife
What do you love eating or cooking: I’m constantly in the kitchen. Ever since I changed the way I eat I enjoy choosing and creating what goes into my body. However, nothing can top home cooked food from my parents.
Favorite place to go in the UAE: A quiet beach.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
'The Lost Daughter'
Director: Maggie Gyllenhaal
Starring: Olivia Colman, Jessie Buckley, Dakota Johnson
Rating: 4/5
MATCH INFO
Real Madrid 2 (Benzema 13', Kroos 28')
Barcelona 1 (Mingueza 60')
Red card: Casemiro (Real Madrid)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Uefa Nations League: How it works
The Uefa Nations League, introduced last year, has reached its final stage, to be played over five days in northern Portugal. The format of its closing tournament is compact, spread over two semi-finals, with the first, Portugal versus Switzerland in Porto on Wednesday evening, and the second, England against the Netherlands, in Guimaraes, on Thursday.
The winners of each semi will then meet at Porto’s Dragao stadium on Sunday, with the losing semi-finalists contesting a third-place play-off in Guimaraes earlier that day.
Qualifying for the final stage was via League A of the inaugural Nations League, in which the top 12 European countries according to Uefa's co-efficient seeding system were divided into four groups, the teams playing each other twice between September and November. Portugal, who finished above Italy and Poland, successfully bid to host the finals.
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
Full Party in the Park line-up
2pm – Andreah
3pm – Supernovas
4.30pm – The Boxtones
5.30pm – Lighthouse Family
7pm – Step On DJs
8pm – Richard Ashcroft
9.30pm – Chris Wright
10pm – Fatboy Slim
11pm – Hollaphonic
The%20specs
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Zayed Sustainability Prize
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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57%20Seconds
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The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
About Okadoc
Date started: Okadoc, 2018
Founder/CEO: Fodhil Benturquia
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Healthcare
Size: (employees/revenue) 40 staff; undisclosed revenues recording “double-digit” monthly growth
Funding stage: Series B fundraising round to conclude in February
Investors: Undisclosed
