April 20, 2025 • 7 mins
On this Money Monday, we're going back to Augusta where Rory McIlroy finally won The Masters and in doing so gave us 5 lessons for chasing and achieving dreams. It wasn’t pretty. It wasn’t clean. It was gritty, emotional, and one of the most unforgettable moments in sports history.
Rory stepped onto the first tee looking calm, focused. Like a man who’d been here before, and this time, was ready to finish it. He was 12-under. Two shots clear. It was his tournament to lose.
Then it unraveled almost immediately. A loose drive. Bad bounce. Scrambled recovery. Double bogey. That kind of start can break a player, especially at Augusta National, especially when the stakes are this high. But this year would be different.
Here are five lessons we can learn from Rory Mcllroy's journey to immortality at the Masters:
Lesson #1: Pressure Doesn’t Break You—It Reveals You
That double bogey on the first hole could’ve crushed him. It has crushed players before. It’s crushed him before. But this time, Rory leaned into the moment.
In sales, the pressure hits you just as fast. A lost deal, a missed number, or an impossible quarter. You don’t get to run from it. You fail to the level of your habits, your mindset, and your preparation. What shows up when you’re squeezed is your true game.
Lesson #2: Respect the Long Game
Rory didn’t panic; he recalibrated. He birdied 3, then 4. No showboating. No hero shots. Just control. He played tight through the front 9. His game wasn’t flashy—just steady. He didn’t chase. He didn’t press. Rory played smart. He trusted the process and took what the course gave him. He didn’t win with a miracle chip. He won with patience. Tempo. Smart decisions. He trusted the process.
That’s how deals close. That’s how pipeline builds. You qualify. You follow up. You show up again. And you earn the right to close when the buyer’s ready—not when you’re desperate to sell. Trust the process, be consistent, and believe in your system.
Lesson #3: How You Lose Matters More Than How You Win
But the Augusta National did what the Augusta National always does—it tightened its grip.
The 11th is long, brutal, and unforgiving. His approach caught the small bumpy hills that line the green side fairway and scuttled left. The ball screamed toward the left pond and stopped just short. Rory was able to make the save for bogey.
"Amen Corner," he must have whispered to himself, exasperated. Rae’s Creek was, again, waiting on 13—and it got him. His 89-yard chip landed short and skipped into the water. Another bogey.
He was slipping. You could see it in his face. The sweat. The searching for focus. The doubt that has haunted his Masters’ history creeping in around the edges. The crowd got quiet. Could it be another collapse.
On the 15th, after his tee shot put him left of the fairway blocked by three Georgia Pines, Rory stood at the top of the hill—one of the last true scoring chances on the course.
He pulled a 7-iron for 220 yards. A high, arching draw that tracked perfectly, landing soft on the right side of the green and rolling to within five feet of the pin. Rory bounced down the fairway to the green, walking on clouds. The crowd enveloped him in a unified chant.
Then he landed another birdie on 17. Suddenly, he was back to 11-under—tied with Justin Rose, who was charging from behind with a 66 and had the crowd buzzing.
18 was Rory’s chance to seal it. But his second shot found the bunker. The blast out was clean, but the putt too strong. He missed. The gallery groaned. Another Masters heartbreak? Was this all too much to fight in one day? Did he have one more, two more, three more holes?
But Rory didn’t show frustration or melt down. He reset and walked back to the tee box for the playoff with Rose. For years, Rory has taken losses on the chin. No excuses. No drama. Just class.
Grace matters. Your mindset matters. Clients see that in sales. They notice how you act when the deal doesn’t go y...
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:05):
This is Jeb Blunt, and it's Money Monday
on the Sales Gravy Podcast.
Make money, money, money,
money.
Make money, money,
Money makes the world go round. I'm a
talk around town. Remy gave me the sound.
Alright. It's Monday. Time to get fired up,
focused, energized, and motivated for the week ahead
(00:27):
because how you start your week is how
you end your week, and you want to
start your week strong.
And this week, I've got a special guest
for you. My son, Jeb Blunt Junior, was
at the Masters last Sunday, and he's gonna
share with you five key lessons that we
can learn from Rory McIlroy's historic win about
chasing and achieving our dreams. So without further
(00:47):
ado, here's Jeb Blunt junior.
Today,
we're going back to Augusta
because I was there on Sunday when Rory
McIlroy finally won the Masters.
But I need you to hear this, not
as a golf fan, but as someone chasing
something of their own. First, I'll set the
scene.
(01:08):
Rory stepped onto the first tee like a
man walking into an old fight, 12 under
par, two shots ahead. This was the one
major he'd never won, on the one course
that had always
found a way to break him.
And on this very first hole,
it almost happened again.
A loose tee shot, a bad bounce, double
bogey out of the gate. The kind of
(01:29):
gut punch that ended his Augusta Sundays before,
but not
this time.
He steadied himself, birdie on three, another on
four. No panic, no hero ball. He just
kept swinging.
He made the turn. He was composed
all the way up until the eleventh,
the dreaded eleventh,
(01:49):
the beginning of Amen Corner. His drive got
off to the right into the woods, and
then his approach shot kicked unfortunately
off those mounds just right of the green
and headed all the way to the pond,
stopping
just before the edge. You could see it
on his face,
sweat running down his temple, and he was
(02:10):
searching for the focus that he knew was
in there somewhere.
But he bogeied.
The leaderboard shuffled. The gallery held its breath.
And Rory? He kept playing the long game.
Then came 13,
the end of Eamon Corner.
A wedge in, just putting it on the
green would keep the momentum going, and Ray's
Creek swallowed his third shot.
(02:33):
Another bogey.
Another Augusta door swinging shut.
But this year, he kicked it back open.
On 15, from the top of the hill,
he swung a seven iron 220
yards on a tight draw that landed just
right on the green and rolled five feet
to the pin.
And he missed it. The eagle putt, much
(02:54):
to our chagrin, but he still
made birdie.
And then another on 17. And just ahead
of him, Justin Rhodes had been getting the
crowd on their feet because he was making
a late charge and had tied
at the top with Rory.
Then Rory walked up to eighteenth.
Eleven under.
History
on the line. All he had to do
(03:15):
was make par. All he had to do
was get the ball in the hole in
four shots.
In his second shot,
found the sand,
the bunker on the right.
He got out clean but left a little
too much on that putt,
and he missed.
A groan came from the gallery. Leaning forward,
knowing that this might have been another year,
(03:38):
we watched
Rory almost win the Masters.
A playoff hole, the same hole,
one more time. Both Justin Rose and Rory
hit the fairway, beautiful shots off the tee,
and Rose dropped his second shot just 10
feet from the cup, the crowd on his
edge.
And Rory stepped up, took some practice swings.
(04:00):
Silence.
He flushed it, hit it right on the
top of the backstop. It spun, rolled, and
settled four feet from the hole, and he
made that putt,
lifting his arms. And 15 tries later, Rory
McIlroy had finally earned the right to slip
on the green jacket.
Not gifted,
but earned.
(04:21):
And I walked away with more than a
story. I walked away with a few lessons
that every b to b seller needs to
hear.
Lesson number one is that pressure,
it doesn't break you, it reveals you.
Rory carried that pressure for years, the grand
slam, the expectations, the critics.
And on Sunday,
the pressure showed up fast. He didn't flinch.
(04:44):
He faced it.
In sales, it's the same. End of the
quarter, big deal on the line. You don't
rise to the occasion. You fall to your
level of discipline.
What gets revealed when you are squeezed,
that's who you really are.
Lesson number two, respect the long game.
He didn't win with a miracle chip. He
(05:06):
won with patience,
tempo, smart decisions.
He trusted the process.
That's how deals close. That's how pipelines build.
You qualify, you follow-up, you show up again,
and you earn the right to close when
the buyer's ready, not when you're desperate.
Lesson number three.
How you lose matters more than how you
(05:27):
win.
For years, Rory took losses on the chin,
the US Open in 2024,
in 02/2011,
at the Masters,
but no excuses.
No drama, just class.
Clients notice that too.
They watch how you handle rejection.
They remember how you carry yourself when the
(05:48):
answer is no.
And the next time, when it's yes, it
might be because of how you lost last
time.
Lesson number four. The loudest cheers come from
the longest roads.
The ovation on '18
wasn't just about the win.
It was a release.
The entire
crowd
(06:08):
was released,
standing on their feet chanting,
Rory.
Rory.
It was every close call, every Sunday collapse,
every year we ask,
will he ever?
You want reputation? You want referrals? You want
loyalty?
Earn it. Bleed for it, and let people
(06:29):
watch you do it.
Lesson five. Legacy is built in a moment,
but earned over time.
That win didn't define Rory's career.
It completed it.
In your legacy,
it won't be built on one pitch or
one quarter.
It's built in the quiet moments,
the deals that fall through, the follow ups
(06:50):
no one sees, the conversations that test your
patience and your character.
But when the moment finally comes, when the
big one lands, it'll all be worth it.
So, yeah, I saw Rory win the masters.
But what I really saw?
I saw greatness and what it looks like
when it refuses to quit.
(07:11):
That's the kind of win you can chase
too.
This has been Money Monday on the Sales
Groovy podcast.
Now get out there and take your swing.
Survival of the fitness, you could sink a
swim. I've been broke, I ain't never going
back again. I need some sea notes, some
cheddar, and a stack of ends. I need
a bowl of dough. I don't need no
Facebook friends.
(07:31):
I need a pack of them snaps, a
handful of fetti wops, a rubber band on
my green backs. Look, doll. Don't be playing
with my paper. I need every rare cent.
That's why I brought my little scraper.
This is Jeb Blunt, and it's Money Monday
on the Sales Gravy Podcast.
Make money, money, money,
money.
Make money, money,
Money makes the world go round. I'm a
talk around town. Remy gave me the sound.
Alright. It's Monday. Time to get fired up,
focused, energized, and motivated for the week ahead
(00:27):
because how you start your week is how
you end your week, and you want to
start your week strong.
And this week, I've got a special guest
for you. My son, Jeb Blunt Junior, was
at the Masters last Sunday, and he's gonna
share with you five key lessons that we
can learn from Rory McIlroy's historic win about
chasing and achieving our dreams. So without further
(00:47):
ado, here's Jeb Blunt junior.
Today,
we're going back to Augusta
because I was there on Sunday when Rory
McIlroy finally won the Masters.
But I need you to hear this, not
as a golf fan, but as someone chasing
something of their own. First, I'll set the
scene.
(01:08):
Rory stepped onto the first tee like a
man walking into an old fight, 12 under
par, two shots ahead. This was the one
major he'd never won, on the one course
that had always
found a way to break him.
And on this very first hole,
it almost happened again.
A loose tee shot, a bad bounce, double
bogey out of the gate. The kind of
(01:29):
gut punch that ended his Augusta Sundays before,
but not
this time.
He steadied himself, birdie on three, another on
four. No panic, no hero ball. He just
kept swinging.
He made the turn. He was composed
all the way up until the eleventh,
the dreaded eleventh,
(01:49):
the beginning of Amen Corner. His drive got
off to the right into the woods, and
then his approach shot kicked unfortunately
off those mounds just right of the green
and headed all the way to the pond,
stopping
just before the edge. You could see it
on his face,
sweat running down his temple, and he was
(02:10):
searching for the focus that he knew was
in there somewhere.
But he bogeied.
The leaderboard shuffled. The gallery held its breath.
And Rory? He kept playing the long game.
Then came 13,
the end of Eamon Corner.
A wedge in, just putting it on the
green would keep the momentum going, and Ray's
Creek swallowed his third shot.
(02:33):
Another bogey.
Another Augusta door swinging shut.
But this year, he kicked it back open.
On 15, from the top of the hill,
he swung a seven iron 220
yards on a tight draw that landed just
right on the green and rolled five feet
to the pin.
And he missed it. The eagle putt, much
(02:54):
to our chagrin, but he still
made birdie.
And then another on 17. And just ahead
of him, Justin Rhodes had been getting the
crowd on their feet because he was making
a late charge and had tied
at the top with Rory.
Then Rory walked up to eighteenth.
Eleven under.
History
on the line. All he had to do
(03:15):
was make par. All he had to do
was get the ball in the hole in
four shots.
In his second shot,
found the sand,
the bunker on the right.
He got out clean but left a little
too much on that putt,
and he missed.
A groan came from the gallery. Leaning forward,
knowing that this might have been another year,
(03:38):
we watched
Rory almost win the Masters.
A playoff hole, the same hole,
one more time. Both Justin Rose and Rory
hit the fairway, beautiful shots off the tee,
and Rose dropped his second shot just 10
feet from the cup, the crowd on his
edge.
And Rory stepped up, took some practice swings.
(04:00):
Silence.
He flushed it, hit it right on the
top of the backstop. It spun, rolled, and
settled four feet from the hole, and he
made that putt,
lifting his arms. And 15 tries later, Rory
McIlroy had finally earned the right to slip
on the green jacket.
Not gifted,
but earned.
(04:21):
And I walked away with more than a
story. I walked away with a few lessons
that every b to b seller needs to
hear.
Lesson number one is that pressure,
it doesn't break you, it reveals you.
Rory carried that pressure for years, the grand
slam, the expectations, the critics.
And on Sunday,
the pressure showed up fast. He didn't flinch.
(04:44):
He faced it.
In sales, it's the same. End of the
quarter, big deal on the line. You don't
rise to the occasion. You fall to your
level of discipline.
What gets revealed when you are squeezed,
that's who you really are.
Lesson number two, respect the long game.
He didn't win with a miracle chip. He
(05:06):
won with patience,
tempo, smart decisions.
He trusted the process.
That's how deals close. That's how pipelines build.
You qualify, you follow-up, you show up again,
and you earn the right to close when
the buyer's ready, not when you're desperate.
Lesson number three.
How you lose matters more than how you
(05:27):
win.
For years, Rory took losses on the chin,
the US Open in 2024,
in 02/2011,
at the Masters,
but no excuses.
No drama, just class.
Clients notice that too.
They watch how you handle rejection.
They remember how you carry yourself when the
(05:48):
answer is no.
And the next time, when it's yes, it
might be because of how you lost last
time.
Lesson number four. The loudest cheers come from
the longest roads.
The ovation on '18
wasn't just about the win.
It was a release.
The entire
crowd
(06:08):
was released,
standing on their feet chanting,
Rory.
Rory.
It was every close call, every Sunday collapse,
every year we ask,
will he ever?
You want reputation? You want referrals? You want
loyalty?
Earn it. Bleed for it, and let people
(06:29):
watch you do it.
Lesson five. Legacy is built in a moment,
but earned over time.
That win didn't define Rory's career.
It completed it.
In your legacy,
it won't be built on one pitch or
one quarter.
It's built in the quiet moments,
the deals that fall through, the follow ups
(06:50):
no one sees, the conversations that test your
patience and your character.
But when the moment finally comes, when the
big one lands, it'll all be worth it.
So, yeah, I saw Rory win the masters.
But what I really saw?
I saw greatness and what it looks like
when it refuses to quit.
(07:11):
That's the kind of win you can chase
too.
This has been Money Monday on the Sales
Groovy podcast.
Now get out there and take your swing.
Survival of the fitness, you could sink a
swim. I've been broke, I ain't never going
back again. I need some sea notes, some
cheddar, and a stack of ends. I need
a bowl of dough. I don't need no
Facebook friends.
(07:31):
I need a pack of them snaps, a
handful of fetti wops, a rubber band on
my green backs. Look, doll. Don't be playing
with my paper. I need every rare cent.
That's why I brought my little scraper.
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