Rory McIlroy waited 11 years to complete the career grand slam. So, what was another 25 minutes?
After pulling his par putt on the 18th to bogey the last and move to a play-off with fellow Brit Justin Rose, the Northern Irishman put to bed a decade of near misses and agony by delivering the approach shot of a lifetime seconds after his counterpart left his second shot 10 feet past the hole.
Rose’s birdie attempt sailed past the hole after failing to break. He made par, leaving McIlroy a shot at history.
He didn’t waste the second chance, nailing the putt to birdie the last to claim the championship.
Tears followed, with McIlroy falling to his knees. Then, an explosion of joy as golf’s nearly man cemented his place in history.
Rory McIlroy celebrates winning the 2025 Masters Tournament after the first playoff hole on the 18th green at Augusta National Golf Club on April 13, 2025. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
It was Rose’s third second-place finish at the Masters and second playoff loss, having lost to Sergio Garcia in 2017.
His final round six-under 66, which included a birdie at 18 to put the pressure on McIlroy, however won’t be forgotten.
But this was McIlroy’s moment in the sun at Augusta National, having ridden a wild roller-coaster during his fourth-round.
Indeed, McIlroy had held his nerves throughout the opening nine holes before dropping four shots in as many holes, including a double bogey at 13 after finding the water to open the door for the chasing pack.
It left McIlroy tied with Rose and Ludvig Aberg at 10-under, before the Brits steadied and the Swede crumbled.
Birdies at 15 and 17 looked to have sealed it for McIlroy, before he pulled his makeable putt on 18 after easily getting out of the bunker to finish at 11-under.
After Rose birdied from long-range earlier, it meant the Masters would move to a playoff for the first time since 2017.
As McIlroy waited on the tee box, Rose eventually met his counterpart after a long drive from the driving range.
After pleasantries were exchanged, Rose belted his drive and then followed it up with a nice approach shot that landed just next to the hole before rolling out.
But McIlroy wouldn’t be denied, playing the perfect final hole to secure his place in history.
“It feels incredible,” McIlroy said. “This is my 17th time here and I started to wonder if it’d ever be my time.
“I think the last 10 years coming here with the burden of the grand slam on my shoulders and trying to achieve that, I’m wondering what we’ll talk about going into next year’s masters. I’m honoured and thrilled to be able to call myself a Masters champion.”
Rory McIlroy watches on as Justin Rose’s birdie putt slides past the hole at Augusta National Golf Club on April 13, 2025. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)
On the approach shot, McIlroy said it was the perfect position to go close to the hole.
“I had two yards less in the playoff than I did in regulation, it was a little bit of a flatter lie as well, so I knew I had a perfect gap-wedge was going to land and come back,” he said.
“It was a good number and I just needed to make a committed swing and I made one at the right time.”
That he did, with the ball rolling back to a couple of feet.
And the reaction?
“I’d say it was 14 years in the making, from going out with a four-shot lead in 2011, feeling like I could have got it done, and there was a lot of pent up emotion that came out on that 18th green,” said McIlroy, before pausing as he held back more tears.
“A moment like that makes all the years and all the close calls worth it. I want to say hello to my Mum and Dad, they’re back home in Northern Ireland and I can’t wait to see them next week and I can’t wait to celebrate with them.”
Earlier, former Masters champions Patrick Reed (-9) and Scottie Scheffler (-8) both had final round 69s to finish third and fourth.
Australian Jason Day threatened to make a go at it but couldn’t keep the momentum up as he finished with a final round 72 to finish five-under in a tie for eighth.
Min Woo Lee struggled and finished plus-six.
