'You’re So Small, How Do You Hit It So Far?' Eight Years After Meeting Rory McIlroy, Noah Kent Has Just Played A Masters Practice Round With His Hero

Rory McIlroy must receive a lot of fan mail and bump into hundreds of golfers he has inspired to take up the game over the years.

There will be thousands of stories of young players who have rushed to take up golf because they were excited to see him play.

However, this one is particularly remarkable.

After missing the cut at the 2017 US Open, McIlroy bumped into a 13-year-old kid called Noah Kent, and their five-minute chat changed the young man's life.

McIlroy would have been peeved to have missed the cut at Erin Hills, a course Dana Fry, Kent's stepfather helped design, but he stayed around to tell the cheeky teen how someone "so small" could drive the ball such a long way.

That meeting and what was discussed between the pair left a huge impression on Kent - and on Tuesday at Augusta National they ended up playing a practice round together.

Kent's no competition winner, not that competition winners are allowed to enjoy practice rounds with the stars prior to The Masters - he's a good golfer. Very good.

Kent defied the odds to reach the final of the 2024 US Amateur, having sat just inside the WAGR top 200 before that week and vaulting himself up to 164th as a result.

He's one of five amateur golfers who will be teeing it up at the 2025 Masters, and he'll be all the better prepared after enjoying a practice round with his hero.

This story, as reported by Adam Schupak for Golfweek, is a heartwarming one, and shows the power of professional golfers as role models.

Schupak reports that a week after meeting McIlroy, Kent received an autographed Nike shirt from the Northern Irishman, which still hangs framed in his room.

What makes the story even more incredible is that Kent only started to play golf seriously after that visit with McIlroy.

Eight years later and he's now teeing it up alongside the best players in the world.

"We played together over the winter and he kind of just talked to me, it was really cool," Kent told Amanada Ballionis before heading off to play with McIlroy on the back nine.

"It just means so much that he would even spend time with me," he said of the brief discussion they had eight years ago at Erin Hills.

"He doesn't know who I am, I'm just a 13-year-old kid out there just watching and supporting, so it just means the world."

McIlroy admitted that he never would have imagined that eight years later he would be playing a practice round with Kent.

"It just shows to never take these little encounters with kids for granted," said McIlroy, who will be happy to be speaking about someone else this week instead of talking about his chances of finally winning a Masters title and completing the 'Grand Slam'.

"It's amazing to see him play so well, to get here, to get in this field this week. Obviously looking forward to going out there and experiencing it with him today."