As Rory McIlroy wiped his tears, tried and failed to compose himself and donned the green jacket at the US Masters, the cameras cut back to the Sky Sports studio where Paul McGinley tried to analyse the sensational victory but took an unexpected path in doing so.
The Dubliner, usually so gushing about the player, spoke of a person who "wasn't everyone’s cup of tea" and "divided opinion" mere minutes after some of the loudest cheers to ever come from the mouths of the Augusta patrons.
To be fair to McGinley, he took to social media on Monday afternoon in attempt to clarify the remarks, describing them as a "ham-fisted" attempt at praise.
Still, ill-fitting of the moment, no doubt. A grain of truth? Possibly. Probably.
It seems uniquely Irish that perhaps our greatest ever sports star (a debate for another day) has a global popularity that can be matched by so few in the history of this small island, but at home, that backing isn’t guaranteed in the way that is for a Shane Lowry or a Pádraig Harrington.
Firstly, it’s important to note that the County Down man is immensely popular in Ireland, but that support - and any opposition to it - is viscerally delivered.
Test it out. If you’re in a Whatsapp group with friends, was the reaction to his victory completely positive?
In my own main group of 16 people, two openly dislike McIlroy, another few don’t follow the golf too closely and one man only sends one message a year to wish everyone a happy Christmas.
That seems to be the way of it, loved by most, and disliked by the few.
While the galleries still chanted his name (as they had been doing for hours at the often staid and reserved Augusta) McGinley’s comments put the question of McIlroy's popularity at home front and centre.
His remarks would have seemed utterly bizarre to any Americans watching.
A lot of it is rooted in identity issues with social media posts after his victory predictably, and depressingly, being flooded with the 'he’s Irish’, ‘he’s British’, ‘he’s Northern Irish’ comments.
The player himself has tried to walk that tightrope with delicacy in the past, but once golf was added to the Olympics he was forced into a corner.
Back in 2012, as a 23-year-old, McIlroy said that "he always felt more of a connection with the UK than with Ireland" and was slaughtered for it.
After both he and Lowry skipped the 2016 Games he would go on to represent Ireland at the Olympics in 2020 and 2024, but it’s clear that he felt uncomfortable with the whole debate and would have preferred not to have ventured down that particular road.
Which is unusual because when it comes to open books, McIlroy leaves every page on view for the world.
Even that seems to divide opinion, which is perplexing. Too often we’re told in Ireland that our sports stars are too safe in their media dealings, too scared of saying something that will upset opponents or even their own managers.
GAA players are cited as being most guilty while Irish rugby jargon is oft lamented. At least League of Ireland interviews usually provide something to sink your teeth into, especially when Damien Duff is in front of the microphone.
McIlroy? Well, he’ll speak openly and eloquently about pretty much any subject he is asked about. He doesn’t have to, he doesn’t have pay-per-views to sell, but he does because being honest is engrained in him.
Sometimes the pain is just too much and he can’t face reporters, such as after his disappointing first round at the US Masters, but time and time again he fronts up through the good and the bad.
A worldwide superstar, he hasn’t forgotten his roots either with RTÉ’s Greg Allen and BBC NI’s Stephen Watson amongst those granted one-on-one interviews after his Augusta success.
A few years ago, as part of his vast charitable work, McIlroy and Alex Ferguson spoke at the Dublin Convention Centre.
Ferguson was good value, but the 2,000 strong crowd hung on every word out of McIlroy's mouth as he spoke without any hint of a handbrake.
He even threw in the footage of the five-a-side tackle that led to the rupture of his ATFL - the anterior talofibular ligament - that meant he missed his Open title defence at St Andrews.
And what more could you ask for from a sporting point of view? Over the last 10 years, name a sports star who has provided more drama, more entertainment, more emotional turmoil. Characters like McIlroy are why we love sport. Sunday’s final round capped off one of the best majors in history with the fairytale finish sealing the deal.
People pay to watch Messi, not Inter Miami, they go to see Steph Curry as much as the Warriors, and people go to golf to witness Rory McIlroy because you’re booking into the sublime and the ridiculous. You might get a duffed chip into Rae's Creek or you might get one of the best recovery shots from the pine straw ever seen at the famed Georgian course. Nobody watches McIlroy and leaves thinking they haven’t got their money’s worth.
Irish golf needs to be thankful too. The Irish Open was struggling, unsure of a place in the calendar and devoid of real superstar power until the player took on major responsibility and hosted it from 2015 to 2018 and ensured big names signed on. Even with all of that, he was criticised in some quarters for skipping it in 2022. Sometimes, he must feel like he can't win.
Rory McIlroy ticks every box you’d want in a sporting superstar, and yes he’ll probably continue to divide opinion for some, but following Sunday’s action and those emotional scenes afterwards, maybe now he’ll have won over a few more detractors.
And, at 35, we need to enjoy him while he is at the peak of his powers. It's hard to imagine we'll see the likes of him again.
