The 11-year chase is finally complete − and it took a playoff.
Rory McIlroy emerged victorious at Augusta National as the winner of the 89th Masters tournament, capturing the one major that eluded him and putting himself in golf immortality. McIlroy was in a showdown with Justin Rose, with both tied at 11-under par, and only needed one playoff hole to win. McIlroy finished with a 1-over 73 before it went to the playoff.
It was as dramatic as an ending could be at Augusta National on April 13. McIlroy headed into the final hole with a one-shot lead but couldn’t save par and it came down to a playoff between McIlroy and Rose, who shot a final-round 66.
The two competitors replayed the 18th and started off with ideal tee shots. On their second shots, Rose nearly hit it into the hole and got to within 15 feet, while McIlroy’s ball had incredible backspin after hitting the green to end up 4 feet away. Rose couldn’t make the putt and settled for par. All McIlroy needed was birdie to win his first green jacket, and he hit it.
It was an up-and-down final round, but after he nailed the winning putt, McIlroy fell to his knees as the celebration was on. He was visibly emotional, and all the pain and frustration from years past are now wiped away with his first Masters victory.
With the win, the 35-year-old from Northern Ireland becomes the sixth golfer to win the career Grand Slam and the first since Tiger Woods capped off the achievement in 2000.
“It feels incredible,” McIlroy said afterward on the CBS broadcast. “This is my 17th time here and I started to wonder if it would ever be my time. The last ten years coming here with the burden of the Grand Slam on my shoulders and trying to achieve that. I’m sort of wondering what we are going to talk about going into next year’s Masters. I’m honored and thrilled and so proud to call myself a Masters champion.”
One of the most recognizable names in golf, McIlroy burst onto the scene after becoming an accomplished amateur star and proved he could play with the best in the world when he turned pro at 18. He won his first major at the 2011 U.S. Open, took the 2012 PGA Championship and had a stellar 2014 when he won the British Open and PGA Championship in less than a one-month span.
But as McIlroy became a household name, the Masters has always been a sore spot in his career. In 2011, he looked like he’d win it when he had a four-stroke lead heading into the final day. Instead, he had a disastrous last round and finished tied for 15th. The following year, weekend struggles took him out of the mix.
McIlroy finished in the top 10 every year from 2014 to 2018, and in 2022, he finished in second, three strokes behind Scottie Scheffler.
There was wonder if McIlroy would ever win at Augusta. But something felt different about this year. McIlroy met with Jack Nicklaus, winner of six green jackets, about how to play the course, shot-by-shot. The legendary golfer told McIlroy he wouldn’t change a thing about his approach.
“I think it’s about time that Rory won,” Nicklaus said.
Maybe it was a good omen.
After a rough end of the first round spoiled his day April 10 and seemed like it would be another disappointing weekend, he recovered with a 6-under-par second round to catapult himself into third place. Then for his third round he had another big day to get to 12 under, in first place by two strokes heading into the final day.
It was his first 54-hole sole lead at a major since the 2014 PGA Championship. It was nearly the same scenario as the 2011 collapse. The question on Sunday was would McIlroy finally exorcise the demons?
Bryson DeChambeau made it interesting early when he briefly took the lead after the second hole, but there was nothing stopping McIlroy from ending the day on top, even when things started going wrong.
He was dialed in off the start. After a poor tee shot on the par-4 seventh, McIlroy split the trees and the ball beautifully landed on the green 8 feet from the cup. He couldn’t help but smile as he saved par on the hole, and it was just that kind of Sunday McIlroy dreamt of having.
McIlroy was 2-under-par after the first 10 holes, and despite everything going right to start the day, there was still some intense drama to cap off the weekend.
The winner’s third shot on the par-5 13th went right and bounced into the creek in a stunning turn of events. He ended up with double bogey on the hole to drop to 11 under, and moments later Rose birdied the 16th for a tie on top of the leaderboard.
On the following hole, McIlroy had a rough tee shot and could only hope to save par. On the shot, the ball got as close to the cup as it could without going in, stunning everyone watching. It resulted in a bogey and there was a three-way tie among McIlroy, Rose and Ludvig Aberg just before 6 p.m. ET.
When it looked like McIlroy might fade back into complete disaster, he had an unforgettable 15th. On the par-5, his second shot was a magnificent display. The ball landed on the green and rolled to just 6 feet away from the pin as the crowd erupted from the stellar performance. He missed the shot for eagle but got the birdie to retake the lead with three holes to go.
Still, more was needed. Rose hit an incredible birdie putt on the 18th to finish the round at 11 under and tie for first. McIlroy did it again with a spectacular second shot on the 17th hole that set him up 2 feet away from the cup. He nailed the birdie shot and it ended up being critical to forcing the playoff.
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