Well-informed golf fans know that only the reigning Masters champion gets to take his green jacket off property each April. It’s a privilege Rory McIlroy has certainly appreciated since slipping on the spoils of his victory a year ago.
During his press conference on Tuesday at Augusta National, decked out in the same 38 regular he received a year ago in Butler Cabin, McIlroy spoke lovingly of the garment he’ll now try to “win back” this week.
So special a memento has it been that McIlroy let out a little secret about his care of the jacket over the past 12 months: he hasn’t had it cleaned since taking possession.
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If that sounds a bit unsanitary, understand it’s not because Rory has questionable habits. It’s actually the opposite.
“I’m afraid to,” he said when asked if he has had it dry cleaned or tailored. “I’ve tried to be very careful.”
McIlroy will excitedly wear the jacket again on Tuesday night as the guest of honour at the Champions Dinner. It’s an event he has been preparing for since late last year when he first started contemplating his menu.
“I’m quite a procrastinator, so I probably put it off for as long as possible until I actually really had to think about it, which was probably at the back end of last year, starting to think about how to put it together,” he said. “But it was a fun process to go through. I was trying to achieve something that I would enjoy but also something that ties back to experiences I’ve had and something all the other people in that room would enjoy as well.”
Noting that since the menu was revealed last month, several people asked why there wasn’t more of a nod to his home country of Northern Ireland, McIlroy joked:
“People keep asking me why didn’t you go more Irish? I said, because I want to enjoy the dinner as well.”
