Rory McIlroy celebrates winning the 2025 Masters Tournament after the first playoff hole on the 18th green at Augusta National Golf Club. Photo / Getty Images
Rory McIlroy celebrates winning the 2025 Masters Tournament after the first playoff hole on the 18th green at Augusta National Golf Club. Photo / Getty Images
Rory McIlroy has joined the greats of golf completing the career grand slam with a dramatic playoff victory at the US Masters at Augusta.
After missing a six-footer for par at the last hole which could have secured the elusive green jacket, McIlroy beat longtime Ryder Cup teammate Justin Rose in the first hole of the sudden death playoff with a birdie at the 18th hole.
It led to emotional scenes with his caddie and best man Harry Diamond, friends since teenagers and their first major as a team, before being greeted by his wife Erica and daughter Poppy greenside. Fellow players and friends Shane Lowry and Tommy Fleetwood also hung around after their final rounds to congratulate him.
For Rose, it is the second time he’s lost a playoff at the Masters, after being defeated by Sergio Garcia in 2017 and comes off the back of a runners-up finish at the last major - the Open Championship at Royal Troon.
McIlroy joins Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as players to complete the career grand slam. For the Northern Irishman it’s his first major win since the 2014 PGA Championship at Valhalla. Every year since, when he arrived at Augusta, the media focus went on whether McIlroy would capture the grand slam. At his 11th attempt, it is the longest stretch to capture all four majors.
“And not just about winning my next major, but the career Grand Slam. You know, trying to join a group of five players to do it, you know, watching a lot of my peers get green jackets in the process.”
McIlroy began the day with a two-shot lead that was evaporated immediately when he double-bogeyed the opening hole.
A hole later he was trailing Bryson DeChambeau by a stroke. But back-to-back birdies at three and four, while DeChambeau bogeyed both holes, saw the tournament swing back in McIlroy’s favour.
As McIlroy found his composure he hit some stunning approaches from difficult spots and increased his lead to four following two more birdies at nine and 10.
However, there was plenty of late drama to come. First he dropped a shot at the par four 11th and after navigating the famous par three 12th, trouble struck after taking the safe route at the par five 13th.
It produced another double bogey, his fourth of the tournament, when he found the water with a simple chip with his third, which led to a seven and saw him give up the sole lead again.
While DeChambeau fell away and McIlroy coughed up shots, Rose with a final round 66, and last year’s runner-up Ludvig Alberg jumped into contention and at one point sat in a three-way tie with McIlroy.
But every time McIlroy gave up the lead he bounced back.
After a bogey at 14, he almost had an eagle at the 15th with a stunning second approach onto the par five leading to a tap-in birdie. Another superb birdie at the 17th gave him a one-shot lead over Rose. Just a par at the last needed to complete the slam.
Rory McIlroy hits his stunning second shot on the 15th.
But his short approach at the 72nd hole went into the greenside bunker and despite a well-hit out from the sand, he missed a six-footer to win the title, carding a final round 73 and leaving him tied with Rose at 11-under.
At the first playoff hole, McIlroy had another great drive at the 18th and struck his approach to within three feet. After Rose just missed a birdie putt from 19 feet (5.7m), McIlroy sunk his to finally claim the green jacket.
Rory McIlroy celebrates winning the 2025 Masters Tournament after the first playoff hole on the 18th green at Augusta National Golf Club. Photo / Getty Images
‘I certainly didn’t make it easy’
“Look, it’s a dream come true. I have dreamt about that moment for as long as I can remember. I mentioned it out in the prize ceremony, but watching Tiger here in 1997 do what he did, and then winning his first green jacket, I think that inspired so many of my generation to want to emulate what he did.” McIlroy said.
“You know, there were points in my career where I didn’t know if I would have this nice garment over my shoulders, but I didn’t make it easy today. I certainly didn’t make it easy. I was nervous. It was one of the toughest days I’ve ever had on the golf course. In a funny way, I feel like the double bogey at the first sort of settled my nerves,” he said.
Now that the Masters monkey is off his back it wouldn’t be surprising that the world number two golfer goes on a majors run and adds to his now five major titles.
The PGA Championship is next month at Quail Hollow Golf & Country Club, a course at which McIlroy has dominated with four victories in the past, while the Open Championship returns to Northern Ireland at Royal Portrush.
