Rory McIlroy didn’t make it easy for himself, but after a rollercoaster final round on Sunday, he is the winner of the green jacket at the 89th edition of The Masters after beating Justin Rose in a sudden-death playoff.
McIlroy, who has waited 11 years to win another major, was overcome with emotion as he has done what only five golfers in history had before him. His win at Augusta National Golf Club means he has won every single major, which includes the PGA Championship (2012, 2014), the U.S. Open (2011) and The Open Championship (2014), giving him the career Grand Slam.
Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods are the only players in history to win every major prior to McIlroy.
McIlroy’s final round was filled with tons of drama from start to finish, and it reached its highest point when he stepped into the putt on his 72nd hole of the tournament. He needed par to finish at 12-under to beat Rose, who drained a deep birdie putt on the same green a few minutes before to finished 11-under for the tournament.
The putt was just left, and the patrons couldn’t believe it as a playoff was needed to see who would get fitted for a green jacket in Butler Cabin.
Rose was hitting at the tournament practice facility awaiting the potential of the first Masters sudden death playoff since 2017, which he was a part of. He ended up losing to Sergio Garcia to miss out on the green jacket.
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He quickly jumped into a golf cart after learning McIlroy had missed the par putt and went to the 18th tee box to meet the Northern Irishman, who had to do it all over again.
Rose and McIlroy both found the fairway with their tee shots, with the former going first with his approach. And he put tremendous pressure on McIlroy, as Rose bounced the ball near the hole and got a bit unlucky as it trickled away.
McIlroy, who hit his approach into the right greenside bunker, got the baby draw he wanted this time, and he used the slope to spin the ball back to two feet.
Rose still had a great look at birdie, and took his time reading the putt. He gave it a good ride, but it broke too far right, and he cleaned up for par.
Thus, McIlroy had another chance to finally secure what he’s been searching for since he began his illustrious golf career. McIlroy, who never takes a practice putt, walked up to his ball, looked at the hole and put the perfect stroke on it this time.
The patrons went into a frenzy as McIlroy dropped to his knees and started crying, as the dream and goal finally turned into reality. He broke down even more meeting with his wife, Erica Stoll, and their daughter, Poppy, along with many others in his life as he walked to Butler Cabin for his green jacket.
Rose finished second after carding a 66 final round, while Patrick Reed (9-under), Scottie Scheffler (8-under), and Bryson DeChambeau and Sungjae Im (7-under each) rounded out the top five on the Masters leaderboard.
Drama was expected in this final round on Sunday, but perhaps no one expected this to be one of the most up-and-down finishes in the history of this great tournament.
It happened right away on the first hole when McIlroy double-bogeyed the opening hole after a three-putt. His tee shot needed just one more yard to sail over the right fairway bunker, but it landed in the sand instead, forcing a layup. Then, his approach shot was too deep, causing a long par putt that wouldn’t go.
But even more crushing for the man who led at 12-under to begin the round was missing his bogey putt, causing a two-stroke swing. DeChambeau would birdie after sending his tee shot a bit too far left. So, in a flash, DeChambeau and McIlory were tied at 10-under heading to the scoreable par-5 second hole.
Once again, McIlroy’s tee shot couldn’t clear the right fairway bunker, while DeChambeau had an excellent look at an approach to the second green. McIlroy laid up and had a poor approach, which made it a hard birdie look. He would sink his par putt to leave his score at 10-under, but DeChambeau took the sole lead at 11-under after hitting his birdie putt.
The score swing, though, wasn’t even close to over.
The third hole presented a quick turnaround for McIlroy, who watched a birdie putt go left to right and hang on to get a shot back, while DeChambeau’s par save didn’t have the right line. He had to settle with a bogey and McIlroy once again owned the lead.
Then, the fourth hole, a 232-yard par-3, saw McIlroy dialed in with his iron shot that landed within 10 feet of the hole for a solid birdie look. DeChambeau’s drew too much and he couldn’t get his long birdie putt close for another par save. He dropped another bogey, while McIlroy landed back-to-back birdies to get back to 12-under – owning a three-stroke lead after four holes.
Overall, there were three two-shot swings in the first four holes.
McIlroy stayed on an even keel after getting back to 12-under, shooting par in his next four holes before taking a four-stroke lead over DeChambeau, Ludvig Åberg and Rose, who birdied four times during a six-hole stretch to get back into the running at 9-under, after birdying the ninth hole.
The second nine started off clean for McIlroy, who poured in another birdie putt to go to 14-under. It didn’t look like he would’ve had a birdie chance after dropping his club immediately after contact on his second from the fairway, but it drew right back into the green the way he wanted.
Meanwhile, DeChambeau’s second nine was a disaster as the infamous “Amen Corner,” or Holes 11, 12 and 13, ate him up. It started with a huge error hitting his approach on No. 11 into the water next to the green.
He’d fall to 7-under with a double-bogey after trying to salvage the hole, and things got worse when he couldn’t hole his par putt on the short 12th, which always proves to be an issue for players. DeChambeau started the day at 10-under, but found himself 6-under, seven shots off McIlroy’s lead at the time, heading into the 13th hole.
The 13th hole saw McIlroy playing safe, as he should’ve with the lead he had at the time. But his third shot, a short pitch that should’ve been routine, proved disastrous when he hit it too far right and it entered the water. McIlroy wasn’t able to hit his bogey putt after re-doing the pitch, and he fell to 11-under.
On the 16th green, Rose holed his tremendous tee shot to get to 11-under himself, and the movie that was playing out at Augusta National reached peak tension.
McIlroy lost his lead after bogeying the 14th to fall to 10-under, as Rose had the outright lead when he stepped into his par putt on the 17th hole. But he tugged it left, leaving a three-way tie at 10-under between McIlroy, Rose, and Åberg.
The climax of this movie, though, was provided by McIlroy’s seven iron from 207 yards out, needing a right-to-left bender to carry the pond in front of the 15th green. He executed the shot with precision, as the patrons around roared with the ball making its way closer to the green for an eagle putt.
McIlroy wouldn’t make it after hitting it left, but he made birdie to take the lead once more. But like any movie, the climax only leads to the ending, and it was an amazing finish.
On the 18th green, Rose had one last birdie in him, sinking a deep putt to sit tied for the co-lead with McIlroy at 11-under. He would head into the clubhouse and watch with bated breath to see how the golfers behind him would finish. He finished with a final-round 66.
McIlroy had a great look on No. 16 after a great tee shot, but it never broke back, and he stayed tied with Rose at 11-under. Thus, two more holes left for McIlroy, who needed a birdie or better to win it.
So, just like he did on No. 15, McIlroy started walking toward his approach on No. 17, asking his shot with an eight iron to, “Go, go, go!” That’s exactly what the ball did, as it set up yet another chance for McIlroy to get his lead back.
McIlroy had to have tons of mental fortitude all day long after missing his par putt the first time he stepped foot on the 18th green, and he trusted himself to play the hole better during the playoff.
All those missed shots, all those putts that came so close, everything that has happened the past decade that has led McIlroy to question if he’d ever win another major, or better yet, complete the Grand Slam wasn’t in his head when he walked into that final putt in the playoff.
It’s always about the next shot, and this time, McIlroy didn’t miss. History followed.
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