Rory McIlroy wins the Masters: ‘The wide-eyed dreamer who fulfilled his dream’

From his amateur triumphs, like winning the Irish Amateur Close Championship at 15 and earning a silver medal at the 2007 Open as a teenager – to his first professional victory in 2009, Rory welcomed me and BBC Northern Ireland into his world.

He often told me how much it meant to share his journey with the people back home, a connection to his roots that remains vital to him today.

I still smile thinking of the time I gave Rory a lift home from the airport after the ’07 Open. His enthusiasm was infectious as he recounted his best shots, and we ended up reliving them on the putting green his parents had built at their house.

Those moments revealed the joy and passion that I think still define him.

As Rory burst onto the global stage, we were there for his Masters debut in 2009 and, two years later, for the heart-wrenching collapse when he let a four-shot lead slip away on the final round at Augusta.

Rory didn’t shy away from the pain.

Moments after finishing, he gave us a tearful interview, and just a week later, he opened up again at home in Northern Ireland for a special documentary.

I’ll never forget what he said – he was undeterred by the setback and confident a major win was near.

True to his word, less than two months later, Rory silenced doubters with a record-breaking eight-shot victory at the US Open.

It was Father’s Day, and the footage we captured of Rory embracing his dad, Gerry, remains a treasured memory.

Flying back to Northern Ireland with him after that triumph, I saw tears in his eyes as he spotted Holywood from the jet descending into Belfast City Airport.

His emotion at bringing that trophy home was palpable.