McIlroy’s Augusta collapse led to significant career, life changes
Rory McIlroy's Sunday back-nine collapse at Augusta National was one of the most brutal breakdowns in golf history, a total flameout that had the potential to wreck his entire career.
In the wake of that, McIlroy noted that he received advice from pretty much everyone with access to him, and the advice was fairly universal: take control of your life and career. And he did just that, in part by firing longtime manager Chubby Chandler and chasing current girlfriend Caroline Wozniacki.
"I really had to filter everything through and try and make decisions myself," McIlroy told the Irish Golf Desk (via Golf Talk Central). "Sometimes I felt I let people make decisions for me instead of taking my career into my own hands and deciding this is what I want to do, this is where I want to go. That day at the Masters helped me do that."
As Golf Talk Central notes, that collapse led to McIlroy's decision to work with Dave Stockton, cut ties with his old girlfriend and take up with Wozniacki, and leave Chandler for Horizon Sports Management and new manager Conor Ridge.
"I even said afterwards it was about being a bit more cocky, more selfish or assertive or whatever you want to call it," McIlroy said. "Making decisions for myself and really putting my golf and my career first. That's what I wanted to do."
And he went out and won the U.S. Open right after that, so, you know, sometimes things work out in your favor.
