grand slam champ: rory mcilroy finishes the job
Perfection. We could end the article right here, the Masters 2025 was poetic, dramatic, and everything we didn’t expect. Rory McIlroy was many people’s favorite to finally claim a Masters title and complete the iconic Grand Slam achieved by few. But every round we saw something new from different players. We expected a guy like Bryson DeChambeau to be in the mix, and that he was until his reach for glory stopped short after going over par in the final round. We went into the final round thinking it would be all about Rory and Bryson, but we were in for yet another surprise… Justin Rose comes out of the woodworks, playing very silently and flying under the radar for most of the Masters. But in the final round he showed up and did just enough to go -11 through his final shot on 18. He finished a few holes before Rory, so the waiting game had begun.
Rory’s last round was a mix of emotions, not only for him but the viewers. Trending on X all afternoon and evening after possibly choking himself out of a Masters victory yet again, shooting two, yes TWO double bogeys. Rory for most of the weekend held a substantial lead, and headed into the final round was -13, holding a three stroke lead for most of the round… until the double bogeys started to hit. When he arrived at the 14th hole it almost seemed as if he was two-putting everything. Well… maybe that’s because he was. Rory could not sink a deep putt for the life of him, everything was on the line and anything out of 8-12 feet he could not sink, missing left or right each time. This is something we have seen before though; him selling away his chance at going for glory. But what we haven’t seen before is Rory that persevered through everything. He would shoot for par, or one over, or those double bogeys and then hit a masterful shot that put him on the green to land a birdie. The sheer fight and determination to win this Masters was unlike anything we have seen before, a true roller coaster ride of not only emotions but also physical skill. Every bad hole or bad shot, he made up for it with a spectacular shot to wipe away the defeat of the prior shot. It was magnificent.
But in classic Rory fashion, he had a chance on 18 to shoot for birdie, nearly 6 feet out or so, and he missed… Justin Rose survived with -11 and they will go off to a sudden death playoff hole. It was a par 4, Rose teed off first and went onto just miss his birdie putt and had to settle for par in hopes that Rory will still have trouble landing a birdie shot. But in classic Rory fashion he wedges a perfect shot a couple hundred yards out, landing on the green with perfect backspin to land him within 5 feet of the hole. And there it was, the birdie for the win. History. McIlroy sinks it in and basks in all the glory as he has joined the illustrious Grand Slam club. One of the greatest masters in recent memory, a story with the likes of the Return to Glory, from Tiger Woods. We now have Glory for Rory. And that it was, Rory McIlroy has achieved greatness and has solidified himself as one of the greatest ever. Rory, you are a Grand Slam Champ.
Scottie Scheffler puts green jacket on Rory McIlroy.
Cameron Williams
DiSportsPhotoAgency
Senior Writer
