In the words of Coldplay’s Chris Martin, nobody said it was easy, no one ever said it would be so hard.
Rory McIlroy has made a habit of bouncing back from crippling upsets, a trend that began when he followed up Masters heartbreak with a US Open masterclass at Congressional back in 2011, but this week took it to whole new levels.
Not content with bouncing back from a devastating loss at Pinehurst to finally find himself fitted for a Green Jacket, he first had to bounce back from a late first-round collapse, then from a horror start to the final round, then from an even more horrendous mistake on 13 that was followed by another less costly one on 14, just when he seemed poised to cruise home.
From five ahead through 10, he now found himself trailing as Justin Rose put the finishing touches on a birdie on 16, leaving a shell shocked McIlroy in need of the reversal of his life, particularly when Ludvig Åberg birdied the 15th to move to -10, one behind Rose and level with McIlroy. Somehow, he did exactly that and picked himself up off the floor to hit arguably the shot of his life on 15, rope-hooking an iron round the trees to six feet, but he missed the eagle putt and tapped in for birdie to once again get his nose in front after Rose failed to get up-and-down on 17.
Poised to make eagle. Rory McIlroy goes for glory on No. 15. #themasters pic.twitter.com/hAM0zxnkM7
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 13, 2025
Again, it was McIlroy’s to lose, especially when he found the right shelf on 16 and faced a nine-footer for birdie as Åberg was in the process of three-putting the 17th to all but knock himself out of contention. But Rose hadn’t read the script and rolled in a 20-footer across the green for birdie on the last – his sixth in the final eight holes – to tie it once again. Almost simultaneously, Rory’s putt on 16 drifted past, leaving him needing to play the final two in one-under to finally complete the Career Grand Slam.
After laying back with 3-wood on 17, Rory pleaded for his high-drawn 8-iron from 197 yards to go, and go it did, carrying the bunker and creeping forward to within two feet and this time he made no mistake with the putt.
The equation was simple, par the last and banish ghosts 14 years in the making.
Having struggled off the tee all day, when push came to shove, he opted for his most lethal weapon and crushed a bullet fade 317 yards up the hill and into the short grass, leaving himself just 124 yards to the flag. But there was still time for a twist in the tale and he missed the short iron to the right, finding the greenside bunker and splashing out to five feet.
This was a longer putt than either of the crucial ones he’d missed coming down the stretch at Pinehurst, and the pressure once again got the better of him as he pulled it left, meaning we were heading for the first Masters playoff since Sergio Garcia took down Rose in 2017 and McIlroy was going to have to pick himself up off the floor for the third time in five hours.
Rose had the honour and found the right side of the fairway, and Rory hit a carbon copy of his drive in regulation. Some 30 yards behind McIlroy, Rose had the opportunity to pile on the pressure and took dead aim but flew 15 feet past. Knowing that playing safe wasn’t an option this time, he went full-blooded, pitching into the slope behind and drawing it back to four feet.
Rose’s effort was good, but hung out to the right, and he tapped in for par, clearing the stage for Rory once more and this time, his nerve didn’t desert him, collapsing on the green in a mixture of ecstasy and relief.
McIlroy’s moment. #themasters pic.twitter.com/ii5NCjvLmA
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 13, 2025
Career Grand Slam complete.
It might not have been pretty, ultimately carding a one-over 73 as Bryson DeChambeau faltered after taking the early lead, and none of the other challengers bar Rose who shot a 66 and Åberg who finished bogey-triple bogey laid a glove on him. But he won’t care.
He’s got a lifetime invitation to Augusta National, he’s just the sixth player in history to win the Masters, the US Open, and the PGA and Open Championships, and he’s just ended a near 11-year Major Championship drought.
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