AUGUSTA, Ga. — Where can you even begin on the rollercoaster that was Rory McIlroy’s final round at the 2025 Masters.
At the bottom of Rae’s Creek or the top of the golfing pantheon?
Hell, the first four holes were a whirlwind of their own. So was the 18th hole. So was the playoff — the first playoff at Augusta National since 2017, when Sergio Garcia defeated Justin Rose.
And yes, there was Rose again — a thorn in McIlroy’s side. He holed a 20-footer for birdie on the 18th hole to post 11-under, carding a 6-under 66 on Sunday, by far the best round of the day. McIlroy could only muster a 1-over 73, thanks to a bogey on the 72nd hole, leaving him in a tie with Rose.
But in the end, somehow, someway, Rory McIlroy won The 2025 Masters Tournament, becoming the first from the Emerald Isle to win a Green Jacket. McIlroy also snaps an 11-year major championship drought and becomes the sixth all-time player to complete the career Grand Slam.
Again, where do we even begin?
Well, perhaps it makes sense to start at the end of regulation, when McIlroy had a one-shot lead.
After uncorking his best drive on the par-4 18th hole, McIlroy had 125 yards left on his approach. Considering the stature of McIlroy, a wedge shot from this distance should have been routine: play to the middle of the green, two-putt for par, and walk off the golf course triumphantly.
But like Greg Norman in 1986, who is undoubtedly the biggest choke-artist in Masters history, McIlroy flared his wedge into the bunker and failed to get up-and-down. He missed a five-footer for par on the 72nd green, sending him and Rose back to the 18th tee.
And then, in the playoff, after a moment of despair, McIlroy uncorked an unbelievable drive once more on 18. And, once again, McIlroy had 125 yards left to the flagstick. Unlike his blunder in regulation, though, McIlroy hit a tight draw just beyond the cup, and it rolled back to about four feet. What makes that approach in the playoff even more impressive is that Rose had just hit his second shot to about 15 feet, putting even more pressure on McIlroy.
And yet, somehow, someway, McIlroy was able to overcome it. He stuck it close, sending the pressure to Rose, who missed his birdie try. The stage was then set for the career Grand Slam, and McIlroy, the overwhelming favorite among the patrons, sealed the deal by converting his four-footer for birdie. The roar from his birdie could be heard from anywhere between Belfast and the Butler Cabin, where Scottie Scheffler will drape the Green Jacket over his shoulders.
What was a pipe dream is now a reality, and McIlroy’s tears of joy let loose 11 years of anxiety, pressure, and despair.
What a week, what day, what a champion. Rory McIlroy is finally a Masters champion.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Follow him on X @jack_milko.
