Augusta, GA — April 14, 2025 — Rory McIlroy has finally conquered Augusta National. The 35-year-old Northern Irishman completed his long-awaited career Grand Slam on Sunday, winning the 2025 Masters Tournament in stunning fashion with a birdie on the first playoff hole to defeat England’s Justin Rose.
It was a moment a decade in the making. McIlroy, who had come heartbreakingly close in previous Masters appearances, buried a two-foot birdie putt on the iconic 18th hole in sudden death, unleashing years of emotion as he dropped to his knees, arms outstretched, eyes to the Georgia sky. The crowd erupted in chants of “Rory! Rory!” as he embraced his wife Erica and daughter Poppy beside the green.
“This moment makes every year of heartbreak and every close call worth it,” McIlroy said moments before donning the coveted Green Jacket inside Butler Cabin. “There was so much emotion that came out on that 18th green—so many years, so much pressure.”
With the victory, McIlroy becomes only the sixth golfer in history to win all four of golf’s major championships, joining an elite club that includes Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, and Tiger Woods. He also becomes the first European player to accomplish the feat.
McIlroy’s final round was anything but smooth. After starting the day with a two-shot lead, he appeared in control by the turn, but a series of miscues on the back nine nearly cost him the title. A missed five-foot par putt on the 18th in regulation allowed Rose—who had birdied the hole from 20 feet while playing five groups ahead—to force a sudden-death playoff.
But McIlroy didn’t flinch when it mattered most. Returning to the 18th tee for the playoff, he struck a clinical approach shot to within two feet and calmly rolled in the winning putt. Rose’s response came up short, ending his latest bid for Masters glory.
For Justin Rose, it was another chapter in a career marked by close calls at Augusta. The 44-year-old Englishman, who also lost in a 2017 playoff to Sergio Garcia, shot a brilliant 66 on Sunday—the co-low round of the day—but missed a 15-foot birdie putt in the playoff that would have extended the match.
“You don’t go through a career without heartache,” Rose said. “If you want to win the big ones, you’ve got to be willing to risk feeling this way.”
Despite the mid-round stumble, McIlroy showed his championship mettle with two of the finest shots of his career. At the par-5 15th, he hit a jaw-dropping draw that threaded through tree limbs and cleared water to land six feet from the pin. Though he missed the eagle putt, the birdie gave him a brief lead. Then, at the par-4 17th, he struck a 197-yard iron to within two feet for another birdie, keeping him level with Rose.
It was a testament to McIlroy’s resilience—and a poetic reversal of his 2011 Masters meltdown, when he blew a four-shot lead on the back nine in one of the most infamous collapses in tournament history.
Former champion Patrick Reed finished in solo third, two shots behind McIlroy, while defending champion Scottie Scheffler ended up fourth after a steady but unspectacular final round.
“I didn’t have my best stuff,” Scheffler admitted. “But mentally, this was my best week of the year. I just didn’t execute the way I needed to.”
Bryson DeChambeau, who began Sunday just two shots behind McIlroy, saw his chances unravel with a closing 75, falling to a tie for fifth. “There’s a lot to learn from this week—a lot to be proud of, and a lot to be pissed about,” DeChambeau said.
For McIlroy, the win ends an 11-year major drought dating back to the 2014 PGA Championship. In that time, he had racked up top-10s and near misses, but Augusta had always eluded him—until now.
“This is my 17th time playing the Masters,” McIlroy said. “For years, I came here carrying the weight of the Grand Slam on my shoulders. Now that burden’s gone. I guess we’ll have to find something else to talk about next year.”
