'Full Swing' recaps: Episode 8 Everything has Led to This

It’s finally here. “Full Swing,” the highly-anticipated Netflix docuseries that gives viewers unprecedented access to the PGA TOUR and its players, went live Feb. 15. All eight episodes were released simultaneously, allowing viewers a variety of options about how to consume this groundbreaking series. For some, a slow drip may be the preferred method, allowing them to fully soak in the behind-the-scenes look at their favorite players. Others may call in sick and binge all eight of the approximately 45-minute episodes.

Whatever your preference, we’re here to help. First, a quick warning. These episode recaps are chock-full of spoilers. Proceed with caution. But each of these articles is intended to aid your viewing experience, either adding context to the most memorable scenes or helping you recall your favorite moments from episodes you’ve already binged. Enjoy this closer look at Episode 8 of “Full Swing.”

Episode 8: Everything has Led to This

Main character: Rory McIlroy

The final episode of the first season of “Full Swing” focuses on Rory McIlroy, as he navigates one of the most burdensome, courageous and skillful years in golf history. With professional golf at a crossroads, McIlroy embraces his responsibility as one of the most talented and recognized players in the game. Working with his idol, Tiger Woods, he helps develop a roadmap for the PGA TOUR’s future, while also playing some of the most consistent golf of his career.

McIlroy’s inclusion in the series was a surprise that wasn’t revealed to the public until the show’s trailer was released earlier this year. McIlroy revealed at the WM Phoenix Open that he didn’t commit to the series until this summer, after a lengthy conversation with Chad Mumm, Chief Creative Officer for Vox Media Studios.

“I sort of took the attitude of see how the first season works out—see if I like it, like the idea, feel comfortable letting cameras get into my life a little bit more,” said McIlroy, a three-time FedExCup champion. “But I had a good chat with Chad in the summertime. Obviously with everything that's going on in the world of golf, he just said having my voice in there in some way could just add a layer of context that wasn't there already.”

The fruit of that conversation is a thrilling conclusion to the series, which follows McIlroy over the eventful final weeks of the season. McIlroy rides a roller-coaster in that short span, enduring heartbreak at St. Andrews and playing a leadership role in the famed players-only meeting in Delaware before a comeback victory at the TOUR Championship that makes him the first player to win three FedExCups.

THEIR TIGER WOODS

Tiger Woods appeared on “The Mike Douglas Show” when he was 2 years old. McIlroy had to wait an additional seven years to make his debut appearance on talk show, which he did as a 9-year-old on “Kelly” in Northern Ireland. He had just won the 9-10 division in a global junior tournament in Miami.

“Americans have Tiger Woods, we have young Rory,” host Gerry Kelly exclaimed. “And believe you me, this boy can hit a ball.”

McIlroy’s family recognized his talents early on and supported him as he combed through the worldwide junior scene. His dad, Gerry, bought him Nick Faldo’s Junior Masterclass on VHS.

“Any time he needed me to be quiet, he would just put that in the video player and I’d just sit in front of the TV and watch that for hours,” McIlroy says. Now 33, McIlroy grew up right in the sweet zone of watching Tiger Woods. On weekends, an ocean away, he spent late nights watching Woods win again and again.

“All I wanted to do was try to be like him,” McIlroy remembers.

In many ways, McIlroy was the Irish edition of Woods. He admits it went to his head, which can be a bit surprising considering McIlroy’s humility these days.

“I’m pretty sure I was a pretty cocky and arrogant kid,” he says. “I would tell anyone that would listen that I was gonna be the best golfer in the world.”

Of course, he was right.

Over the years, as McIlroy got on the fast track to becoming a four-time major champion and world No. 1, he would become a close friend of Woods. “He is still my hero,” McIlroy says.

In a clip from last year’s Open Championship at St. Andrews, McIlroy and Woods are shown with Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino and Georgia Hall during a pre-tournament exhibition. Naturally, Trevino is cracking jokes with the group, at Nicklaus’ expense. Trevino was never intimidated by the game’s greatest player, famously beating him in a playoff in the 1971 U.S. Open at Merion. He tells a story at St. Andrews about Nicklaus laying the sod over a wedge shot, passing on the tale to a generation too young to have seen the shot.

While discussing that exhibition, McIlroy talks about his appreciation for the game’s history, one of his main motives for serving as the de facto spokesman for his PGA TOUR peers.

“I appreciate those people that came before us,” he says, “because that previous generation, the generation before that, they are the ones that have handed us the game of golf and we are now the ones to try to bring that forward and hand it to the next generation.

“There’s never gonna be another Tiger Woods in our game for many reasons, not just his success on the golf course, but the barriers he was able to break down. But I think he set a great example for a lot of us going forward.”

A couple days later, Woods makes his tearful exit from St. Andrews as he walks down the 18th fairway en route to a missed cut. McIlroy is standing on the first tee and tips his cap as Woods passes by for what may be his final walk down St. Andrews’ 18th fairway in competition. This is a special place for Woods, not only because of his appreciation for golf’s history but also because he won two Open Championships at St. Andrews.

It would be poetic if McIlroy could go on to win the Claret Jug after the poetic scene. Of course, we know how that turns out.

CAPTAIN RORY

In following McIlroy in 2022, “Full Swing” also has a window into his crucial leadership role during a contentious season. McIlroy answered repeated questions in front of the cameras while mobilizing his peers behind the scenes.

“Being one of the faces of golf, I realize the responsibility I have,” he says. “If I want the game that I love to be sustainable and want it to be played by future generations, the game needs be pushed forward.”

McIlroy leads a youth clinic in Jupiter with Golf Channel’s Martin Hall. He meets with representatives at GOLF+ to check out their new virtual reality technology, even strapping on a headset to make a few swings himself. To some players, outside endeavors are a distraction. To McIlroy, it is all part of his journey.

“When I won the U.S. Open in 2011, Jack Nicklaus wrote to me and Arnold Palmer, and they said, you now are in a place in the game where you have a responsibility to grow the game of golf and inspire others to take this game up,” he says. “I’m happy that I can play some small part in furthering this sport and growing it.”

Netflix follows McIlroy specifically at The Open and TOUR Championship. Everywhere he goes, he is mobbed, whether by fans in public or by the media behind the course. There was no off button for McIlroy in 2022.

“He’s the second-biggest star we have out here and it’s not like he was just given that title,” Justin Thomas says. “He’s done that with really, really good golf and great work and time with the fans and he does everything that you’re supposed to do to be in the position he’s in.”

McIlroy is able to endure the spotlight and scrutiny because he knows he is playing an important role for the game he loves.

“When I’m done with the game of golf, whenever that is, if I can hand the game off to the next generation and it’s in a better place than where I found it, then I’ve done a good job,” he says.

SHORT AT ST. ANDREWS 

It was all meant to be. The greatest European player in today’s game was to have his moment at the Home of Golf. McIlroy dazzles for the first three days at St. Andrews. With the crowd firmly in his corner, he and Viktor Hovland start Sunday at the Open Championship four shots ahead of Cameron Smith and Cameron Young. 

McIlroy comes out a little flat, but Hovland drops behind him. A clip shows McIlroy just coming up short on a putt on 13, but vibes are still high.

“He’s up two, maybe three at one point, everyone’s just drinking and happy,” Barstool Sports’ Dan Rapaport says.

Smith goes on a run of five birdies in a row from Nos. 10-14, however, to flip the script. McIlroy goes just 1 under on that same stretch. He arrives at the 18th hole needing eagle to win. He tries to hole out on his second shot, but ends up making par for a third-place finish.

McIlroy, after the most heartbreaking defeat of his career, says he let the tournament slip away, but there will be other opportunities. 

“2015 till this present day, 7 years, I’ve played a ton of really good golf, but in those 7 years, I’ve done everything possible in the game apart from win a major championship, so I feel like I’m trying to win my first one again,” McIlroy tells the Netflix crew.

By the end of production, that number was eight years. Balionis says that can definitely be called a drought.

BACKING UP THE NOISE

Two days after losing The Open, McIlroy calls Smith, the man who essentially spoiled McIlroy’s dream. The call was business. McIlroy wanted to talk about Smith’s future endeavors in golf, saying he wants players to make decisions that are “completely informed.”

At the BMW Championship in Wilmington, Delaware, McIlroy and Woods lead a closed-door meeting of some of the top players on the PGA TOUR.

“I think the one thing that came out of it was that all the top players on this TOUR are in agreement and alignment of where we should go going forward,” he says.

At the TOUR Championship, McIlroy is questioned about the rumored changes coming to the PGA TOUR. Commissioner Jay Monahan holds his own press conference, explaining revisions to the 2023 schedule, such as the molding of designated events. 

As McIlroy signs autographs, a fan says he’s proud of McIlroy for speaking up, giving recognition for what has perhaps felt like a thankless journey for McIlroy.

“My message is legitimate anyway, but I think by winning, it gives it a little more substance and the FedExCup, it’s a really good chance for me,” he says.

Off the course in Atlanta, McIlroy meets with Andy Pazder, the PGA TOUR Chief Tournaments & Competitions Officer. He wants to discuss some concern players have about being required to play in designated events.

“No other athletes in the world get to choose when and where they play,” McIlroy says. “We’ve all just gotten a little soft.”

As for the golf, McIlroy, starting six shots behind leader Scottie Scheffler, opens the tournament with a triple-bogey.

He comes back to shoot 67. He builds momentum with another 67 in his second round and a 63 in his third round, which ends on Sunday

Sitting with Collin Morikawa, J.T. Poston and Sepp Straka, McIlroy watches Scheffler, still the leader, play his final holes on TV. He tells the younger players that when he first turned pro at age 18, he thought there was no way he would still be playing golf at 40. Now, he is at the TOUR Championship, only playing with individuals younger than he is.

“I sat in a press conference here in 2016 and described Tiger and Phil (Mickelson) as on the back nine of their careers and got absolutely roasted for it. And they were both in their 40s,” the old man of the room says.

McIlroy finds himself in the final pairing with Scheffler that afternoon. Scheffler takes a six-shot lead into the final round, and like McIlroy at St. Andrews, this 54-hole leader seems like a fitting champion. Scheffler has been the TOUR’s best player all season, winning four times including the Masters, while also contending consistently. Like at St. Andrews, though, the sensible champion isn’t the one who wins.

After Scheffler appears to separate himself early, McIlroy claws back into the tournament and he pulls away from Scheffler down the stretch. McIlroy wins the TOUR Championship and his third FedExCup, breaking his tie with Woods for most wins in the FedExCup’s history.

“I think winning a FedExCup is right alongside winning a major championship,” McIlroy says. “A major championship, you have to play well for one week out of the year. To win a FedExCup, you have to play well the entire year.

After answering a final round of questions for the season, McIlroy goes into the locker room and is given options for celebratory drinks. He chooses red wine.

Finally at peace, McIlroy opens his phone.

“He’s always the first. Always. Tiger,” McIlroy says. “He’ll text you before the last putt drops. Always the first. He’s unreal.”

He has a wide-eyed grin, looking like the kid in Northern Ireland glued to his TV, watching Tiger Woods late on a Sunday night.

Woods was once the man Nicklaus and Palmer tapped as being responsible to carry golf’s torch. Now, McIlroy is the extension of that fraternity.

“I care deeply about our sport,” he says. “I care about its history. I care about its legacy. I care about the integrity of this game. And there’s a lot of players out here that share those same views.”