Rory McIlroy Reacts to Laureus Award Win With Video Message

Rory McIlroy finally achieved the career Grand Slam with his 2025 Masters Tournament victory at Augusta National Golf Club, taking down Justin Rose in a playoff to secure his first Green Jacket.

Just last week, the 36-year-old Northern Irishman defended his Masters title - holding off World No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler to claim his second consecutive win at Augusta.

While McIlroy's 2026 Masters win is fresh in the minds of the sports world, it was his 2025 title that earned him the Comeback of the Year trophy at the 2026 Laureus World Sports Awards on Monday evening.

McIlroy was not in Madrid to accept the award at Cibeles Palace, but he did film a pre-recorded video message.

"Hi everyone, it's Rory McIlroy. Winner of the Laureus Comeback of the Year award," he said. "I want to thank everyone for their support and want to thank Laureus for the recognition. 2025 was an incredible year winning the Masters for the first time, and hopefully there's a lot more things to come."

McIlroy famously went on an 11-year major drought before winning the 2025 Masters. His previous major win was at the PGA Championship in 2014.

Fresh off his latest Green Jacket, Rory McIlroy accepts the Laureus World Comeback of the Year Award for his 2025 Masters win.#Laureus26pic.twitter.com/qtcgIb95Uj

— Laureus (@LaureusSport) April 20, 2026

McIlroy said he was inspired by other Laureus winners who are in the later stages of their playing careers.

"I've certainly gotten a lot of inspiration from other athletes - athletes that are maybe at the back end of their careers and still being able to achieve these great things," McIlroy said. "I think of Novak [Djokovic] and Rodger [Federer] and Rafa [Rafael Nadal] in tennis. Or I look at [Lionel] Messi, [Cristiano] Ronaldo in soccer. I look at Tom Brady in American football.

"I'm certainly older than I once was, and I think to take inspiration from those guys and what they were able to achieve later into their careers always gave me the belief that one day I'd be able to do it at Augusta."

This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Apr 21, 2026, where it first appeared in the Sports section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

2026 The Arena Group Holdings, Inc. All rights reserved.

This story was originally published April 21, 2026 at 6:15 AM.