Rory McIlroy couldn’t stop crying after winning the Masters.
He cried when his winning putt dropped into the hole, when he hugged his family and friends, when he walked through the jubilant crowd toward the clubhouse and when he spoke about his accomplishment with reporters.
He cried again as he accepted his green jacket in a formal ceremony and spoke about his gratitude for the people who stuck by him through the toughest days of his career.
That’s when he turned to his 4-year-old daughter, Poppy, and urged her to take a lesson from his win on Sunday — and from all the tears.
“Never give up on your dreams. Never, ever give up on your dreams,” McIlroy said.
“Keep coming back, keep working hard, and if you put your mind to it, you can do anything. I love you.”
With the win on Sunday, McIlroy became the sixth golfer in history to win every major at least once and complete the career grand slam.
He also broke a major drought that stretched back 11 years to 2014, when he won the PGA Championship and Open Championship.
McIlroy’s daughter and wife, Erica Stoll, were with him throughout Masters week, and they helped him stay calm between rounds with movie and TV dates.
In various interviews, McIlroy talked about watching “Zootopia” with Poppy before the third round on Saturday and “Bridgerton” with Stoll on Saturday night.
“Very, very good movie if anyone’s interested,” McIlroy said about “Zootopia,” according to Town and Country magazine.