Poppy McIlroy left cringing at comments from father after sensational Masters win

Jack Otway
Mon, 13 Apr 2026 08:45:11 +0000

Rory McIlroy's five-year-old daughter Poppy found herself cringing during her father's victory speech following his second consecutive Masters triumph at Augusta.

The Northern Irishman secured his place in history by becoming just the fourth player ever to successfully defend the green jacket, edging out world number one Scottie Scheffler by a single stroke.

Despite the magnitude of the achievement, young Poppy's pride quickly turned to visible embarrassment when McIlroy shared details about what makes the tournament her favourite event of the year.

"This has definitely turned into Poppy's favourite week of the year," McIlroy said.

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"I don't know if it's because of the par-three tournament or it's the all you can eat ice cream in the Player Services building."

The victory at Augusta carried extra significance for McIlroy this year with his parents Rosie and Gerry watching from the gallery, having missed the emotional scenes following his play-off victory over Justin Rose 12 months earlier.

His wife Erica Stoll and daughter were also present for the celebrations, with Poppy being the first person the champion embraced after holing the winning putt.

McIlroy admitted the venue is becoming somewhere he considers home, and sharing the moment with his closest family made the triumph particularly meaningful.

"I caught myself on the golf course a couple of times thinking about them and I was like 'no, not yet, not yet'," he revealed.

The champion disclosed that persuading his parents to make the journey required some effort, as they had convinced themselves their absence the previous year had been the key to his success.

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The Masters is a McIlroy family favorite. #themasters pic.twitter.com/47lz9zu3Uo
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 12, 2026

"I had to sort of convince them to come this year because they thought the reason I won last year was because they weren't here," McIlroy explained.

The moment of victory proved overwhelming when he marked his ball just two inches from the hole on the final green.

"I just looked at the back of the green because I saw my mum and dad and Erica and Poppy and I was just like 'I can't believe I've just done it again'," he said.

"I'm glad we proved that wrong, so they can keep coming as long as they want."

Sir Nick Faldo, who also defended the Masters title during his career, praised McIlroy's achievement as "incredible" after the Northern Irishman drew level with his tally of six major championships.

"All he needs now is to win another US Open and another Open Championship and then he'll be a two-time grand slam champion," Faldo told Sky Sports.

"He's unique. Rory is the only one out of those guys to go 11 years between wins, and then he's added another one."

Two-time Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald declared on X: "He is undoubtedly the best European golfer of all time now."

Fellow Ryder Cup-winning captain Paul McGinley noted McIlroy has now matched Faldo's major count but still has Harry Vardon's seven titles in his sights.