Now six players in history have won all four major golf tournaments. Once each of the previous five players (Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods) had won three, they captured their fourth major within three attempts. The US Masters was the missing link in Rory’s major portfolio and 2025 was his 11^th attempt since he’d won the other three.

On the first playoff hole against 44 year old Justin Rose (who started the day seven shots behind) Rory finally got the monkey off his back. If he hadn’t, he may have joined Greg Norman as Augusta’s biggest chaser and choker.

The final round was a roller coaster of a ride on a pristine day in Georgia. At the start of the day it appeared to be a two man tussle between good and evil – the PGA Tour’s number one spokesman and poster boy Rory McIlroy against LIV Golf’s big hitting, brash Bryson DeChambeau. After the first hole it was game on after Rory started with double bogey. The pair were all-square with seventeen holes to go.

The final round was heady, nail-biting viewing. Rory rebounded with birdies on the third and fourth, then he birdied nine and ten to lead by four as DeChambeau fell away and it looked like how far Rory.

Justin Rose who himself had blown a 36 hole tournament lead during the third round, was shooting the lights out a few groups back and he holed an 8 metre putt on his final hole be clubhouse leader on -11, matching McIlroy’s score as he exited the 16^th green. Rose headed off to the driving range to keep loose in case a playoff came his way.

Earlier Rory bogeyed 11, doubled 13 and bogeyed 14 and viewers (particularly Australian ones) put hands over their faces reminiscent of days gone by when our hero, Greg Norman, imploded against Nick Faldo and blew a six shot 54 hole lead to lose by five.

However Rory rallied with birdies at 15 and 17 to lead by one over Rose. He only needed a par on 18 to win the green jacket. A clutch drive and that looked a formality – Rory only had a wedge into the 18^th green, make that, two putt and it was his. However his ball faded right, found a bunker and then the nerves set in. Normally McIlroy would make the up and down and the task ahead didn’t look too difficult – but this was the Masters and a tournament he badly wanted to win. His bunker shot did find the green leaving a 2-3 metre putt for glory, but his putt slipped past the hole and it was back to the 18^th for the first playoff hole with Rose.

While all this happened several players staked a claim for the title. Australia’s own Jason Day only a few strokes behind for much of the final round faded but still finished with a T10 finish. His playing partner Luvig Aberg kept peppering the greens and he looked like he’d mount a challenge, however a hackeresque seven on his final hole ended his dream. Patrick Reed holed for eagle on 17 and jumped up the table to finish in sole third place behind McIlroy and Rose. World number 1 Scottie Scheffler couldn’t get his putter going all week but still finished 4^th. S.J Im had a great final round to leap into T5. The fading DeChambeau. Zac Johnson, Conners and Schauffele all had their moments without looking like winning and finished on -5, six shots adrift in T8 with Aussie Jason Day.

At the playoff Rose had the honour and landed his ball safely on the fairway. The tension was palpable even on the TV here is Australia (and well done Fox for the commercial free coverage). Rory had been waiting a while for the playoff to begin and now he needed to find the cut stuff. He nailed his drive and he was about 30 metres closer to the green than Rose – almost in an identical position as his final regulation drive, where he found the sand to make bogey.

It was the meterage advantage that made the difference. Rose found the green, but could not get enough spin to get closer to the hole with his 8-iron. Rory with wedge in hand did get that hold, spin and suck back and his ball dribbled back to a meter from the cup. Rose pushed his birdie attempt past the hole, Rory composed himself, drew a heavy breath and holed the putt, collapsing to the ground, holding his head while tears poured into his hands. He’d done it – the sixth man in history to win all four majors.

What a tournament, what a rollercoaster of a ride. Thank goodness it’s over, thank goodness Rory realised his dream to become one of the greatest ever and thank goodness I’m back at work – I need a rest after a stressful morning’s viewing.

Final Leaderboard

*Defeats Justin Rose with a birdie-3 on the first playoff hole (No.18)

This was the 18^th playoff in Masters history, the most recent in 2017 where Sergio Garcia defeated Justin Rose with a birdie-3 on the first playoff hole (No. 18) and it was the third Masters playoff in a row to feature all international players (2013/Adam Scott def. Angel Cabrera, 2017/Sergio Garcia def. Justin Rose)

Rory McIlroy (Won/-11)

• Wins his first Masters Tournament, fifth major championship and 29^th PGA TOUR title in his 263^rd PGA TOUR start aged 35 years, 11 months, 9 days
• Completes career Grand Slam, joining Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods: (90 years after Gene Sarazen/1935 Masters, 60 years after Gary Player/1965 U.S. Open, 25 years after Tiger Woods/2000 Open)
• Fifth major championship victory: T15 all-time with Seve Ballesteros, James Braid, Brooks Koepka, Byron Nelson, J. Taylor, Peter Thomson
• 29^th PGA TOUR victory: T17 all-time with Harry Cooper, Gene Littler, Lee Trevino
• Earns 750 FedExCup points and extends his lead in the FedExCup standings
• In his 17^th Masters appearance, marks second-most attempts to earn first Masters title: Sergio Garcia/Won 2017 Masters in 19^th start
• 21^st player to win five or more major championship titles
• Third player to come from seven strokes back after the first round to win the Masters (Nick Faldo/1990, Tiger Woods/2005)
• 11 years since his last major championship victory (ties five players for longest all-time between major championship wins, most recent: Tiger Woods/2008 U.S. Open – 2019 Masters)
• Third player to win THE PLAYERS Championship and the Masters Tournament in the same year: Tiger Woods (2001), Scottie Scheffler (2024)
• Joins Nick Faldo (1990) as only players to win the Masters with double bogey or worse on first hole of final round
• First player from Northern Ireland to win the Masters; 13^th different country with at least one Masters champion
• Converts for the 12^th time in his 20^th 54-hole lead/co-lead in individual stroke play events on TOUR
• Wins with the 54-hole lead/co-lead at the Masters for the first time (T15/2011); now 5-for-7 converting the 54-hole lead/co-lead in major championships
• FedExCup leader is the only multiple winner this season (AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, THE PLAYERS Championship, Masters Tournament)
• International players have won 11 of the first 16 events on TOUR this season: Hideki Matsuyama/Japan, Nick Taylor/Canada, Sepp Straka/Austria, Rory McIlroy/Northern Ireland/3, Thomas Detry/Belgium, Ludvig Åberg/Sweden, Karl Vilips/Australia, Viktor Hovland/Norway, Min Woo Lee/Australia
• For the ninth consecutive year the champion played in the final group on Sunday

Justin Rose (2^nd/-11)

• Joins Ben Hogan (1942, 1954) as the second player in Masters history to lose in a playoff twice (lost to Sergio Garcia/2017)
• 2018 FedExCup champion moves to No. 9 in the FedExCup standings
• Projected to move from No. 39 to No. 12 in the Official World Golf Ranking
• Held 18- and 36-hole solo lead; no first-round leader has won on TOUR in 16 starts this season
• Owns eight top-10s in 20 Masters appearances, including three runner-up finishes; was T2 to Jordan Spieth in 2015 and lost a playoff to Sergio Garcia in 2017
• Three top-10s in seven PGA TOUR starts this season (T3/AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, T8/Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, P2/Masters Tournament)
• Was attempting to join Nick Faldo (1989, 1990, 1996) and Danny Willett (2016) as Masters winners from England

Miscellaneous Notes

• Patrick Reed (3^rd/-9) posts his best finish in a major championship since his Masters victory in 2018
• Scottie Scheffler (4^th/-8) records fourth consecutive top-10 finish at the Masters (Won/2024, T10/2023, Won/2022)
• Last year’s runner-up, Ludvig Åberg (7^th/-6) closes with bogey, triple bogey for top-10 finishes in each of his two Masters appearances

• Max Homa (T12/-4), who entered this week off five consecutive missed cuts, posts best finish on TOUR since 2024 Truist Championship (T8); finished T3 at 2024 Masters Tournament