Rory McIlroy reveals Shane Lowry convinced Augusta to break protocol for extravagant gift to celebrate Masters win
RORY MCILROY has revealed that best pal Shane Lowry went out of his way to get Augusta National to bend their rules in order to celebrate his Masters success in April.
McIlroy finally ended his agonising 11-year wait to complete his career Grand Slam when he won the Masters last month.
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It was a special moment for McIlroy and his nearest and dearest as he etched his name in golfing history as one of only six players to ever complete the Grand Slam.
And a special occasion clearly calls for a special celebration - something Shane Lowry made sure was going to happen.
Lowry, who has been best friends with McIlroy since their days growing up in Ireland, made sure that the newly crowned Masters champion had something fitting to sip on while wearing his new Green Jacket.
McIlroy revealed that Lowry sweet-talked the Augusta National staff to break protocol and allow him to buy some high-end wine for the celebrations.
Speaking to NBC Sports Golf, McIlroy said: "Funny story. When I won Shane Lowry went straight to the sommelier at Augusta National and said: 'I gotta get a couple cases of wine off you'.
"They said: 'Mr Lowry, we don't allow people to take wine out of the club'.
"He goes: 'No seriously, this is a one off exception'. So they let him buy one case of 1990 Chateau Lafite Rothschild. So that's what we had that night to celebrate.
"That was a very nice gift, he bought it and he brought it over to my rental house that night and we had a few glasses of that - which was very nice."
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Just one bottle of 1990 Chateau Lafite Rothschild retails online for around £950, while cases of 12 can be found for prices around the £7,500 mark.
McIlroy will be hoping he can toast to another major as he tees up at Quail Hollow this week in the PGA Championship.
freeing himself of the shackles of chasing down his Grand Slam.
While he has an incredible record at Quail Hollow, having won four events at the North Carolina course.
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