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In a sport filled with pushy parents the McIlroys do things differently: Rory McIlroy<\/a> had to push his parents to attend the scene of his greatest triumph.<\/p>\n Rosie and Gerry McIlroy feared their presence might jinx their son\u2019s defence of the Masters, so they planned to steer clear of Augusta National.<\/p>\n They partly attributed his victory at the course last year<\/a> \u2013 a dramatic moment in golfing history that secured a career grand slam \u2013 to their absence, which avoided distracting him, and planned to do the same last week.<\/p>\n Instead, the world\u2019s No 2 persuaded them to travel from Northern Ireland<\/a> to the US to witness what turned out to be another rollercoaster victory<\/a>, climaxing in emotional family celebrations.<\/p>\n \u201cThey weren\u2019t here last year to celebrate with us, and surprisingly I had to convince them to come this year, because they thought the reason I won was because they weren\u2019t here. I\u2019m glad we proved that wrong,\u201d McIlroy<\/a>, 36, said on Sunday. \u201cMum and Dad, I owe everything to you. You\u2019re the most wonderful parents,\u201d he said, fighting back tears.<\/p>\n The tribute underscored the fact that the champion\u2019s working-class parents never pressured him to play golf but made sacrifices \u2013 working multiple jobs and graveyard shifts \u2013 to support him once he dedicated himself to the sport.<\/p>\n That history intruded during McIlroy\u2019s final round, he told a press conference. \u201cI caught myself on the golf course a couple of times thinking about them and I was like \u2018no, not yet, not yet\u2019,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n When the ball trickled towards the 18th hole, making him just the fourth person to defend a Masters, McIlroy turned to look at his wife Erica, daughter Poppy and his parents, he said. \u201cThey can keep coming as long as they want. It\u2019s amazing to have them here. If I can be half the parent to Poppy as you were to me then I\u2019ll know I\u2019ve done a good job.\u201d<\/p>\n McIlroy\u2019s sixth major win cemented his stature as one of golfing\u2019s greats and shone a fresh light on his upbringing in Holywood<\/a>, the picturesque County Down town outside Belfast.<\/p>\n His parents met in Belfast, where Rosie worked as a waitress in a bar that Gerry managed. They married in 1988 and their only child was born a year later.<\/p>\n Gerry played at Holywood golf course, where he wheeled his infant son around the greens to soak up the atmosphere and gave him a plastic golf club. When Rory showed passion and ability at the age of four Gerry asked a coach, Michael Bannon, to tutor him.<\/p>\n In a 2022 interview McIlroy said his parents nurtured a love of the game but never forced it on him. \u201cI was never pushed into it in any way. If anything, it was the other way around. It was always my ambition, my dream.\u201d<\/p>\n When McIlroy set sights on a professional career his parents paid the expenses by forsaking holidays and doing extra jobs: Rosie worked late nights at a factory and Gerry worked as a cleaner and did double shifts as a barman.<\/p>\n \u201cI am a working-class man, and that\u2019s all I knew to get the money we needed for Rory to be able to learn and compete at golf,\u201d he once told the Mail on Sunday<\/a>. \u201cWe wanted to give our child a chance \u2013 after all, he was the only one we have. But I want to make it clear; golf was not our dream, it was Rory\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n At Augusta on Sunday Rosie, 65, sported a handbag adorned with screen prints of newspaper reports from her son\u2019s 2025 win. \u201cFigured I\u2019d be here for this one,\u201d Gerry, 66, told reporters<\/a>. Asked to elaborate, he declined and said he needed a pint first.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n