For more than a decade, Rory McIlroy’s chase for the green jacket loomed over his career like a spectre. He had come close, painfully so. There was the 2011 collapse, the Sunday charges that came up just short, and the years of expectation that turned Augusta National into a cathedral of what-ifs.

But on a golden Sunday, McIlroy silenced the ghosts—if only just barely. The Northern Irishman overcame his previous failures, not to mention his final-round playing partner Bryson DeChambeau and some almost-unbelievable, final-round hiccups.

McIlroy needed a birdie on the first playoff hole to seize the victory in what will go down as one of the greatest Masters in history – but it wasn’t over DeChambeau as many might have predicted. Rather, it was Justin Rose, who determinedly climbed the leaderboard Sunday and made a birdie on the final hole to get to the playoff.

When his winning putt fell, McIlroy dropped to his knees, in both exhilaration and relief. The tears followed.

At last, McIlroy had his Masters.

He joined golf’s most elite company—Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, and Tiger Woods—as only the sixth player in history to complete the career Grand Slam.

If he was his generation’s greatest player entering the 89th Masters, his 17th start at just 35 years old, he exited as one of the all-time greats, now a five-time major winner.

“It feels incredible,” McIlroy, who had been trying to complete the Grand Slam since 2014, said in Butler Cabin before defending champion Scottie Scheffler put the green jacket on him. “… I didn’t know if it would ever be my time.”

McIlroy shot 1-over-par 73 and finished at 11 under.

McIlroy has been a complete player in 2025, with two wins in five starts on the PGA Tour and one other top-10 finish. He carried momentum into the first major tournament of the season and continued with flashes of brilliance, starting the third round, for example, with six consecutive 3s—a Masters record.

But he had significant stumbles over the tournament, too, including two double bogeys on the second nine Thursday. He opened the final round with a double bogey, giving DeChambeau, who started the final round two shots back, hope that it might be his day.

McIlroy had a dicey moment at the 13th hole Sunday, when he inexplicably hit his approach shot into the water and made another double bogey—his fourth of the week. At the same time, second-round leader Rose was surging up the leaderboard on the second nine and birdied the 16th to grab a share of the lead.

It appeared McIlroy might be on his way to another collapse like he had at the 2011 Masters – but he bounced back from adversity at the 15th hole Sunday, hitting a soaring, hooking 7-iron to the green, a shot that will enter Augusta lore, to set up a two-shot birdie.

He then hit another towering iron into the 17th to three feet, setting up another birdie to give him a lead again. But a green jacket can never be taken for granted, and once again the ghosts appeared. McIlroy bogeyed the 18th hole to set up the playoff.

Despite his early gains, DeChambeau gradually faded into the Georgia pines. Hitting his ball into the water on the 10th hole sealed his fate. The American shot 3-over 75 to finish in a tie for fifth place.

“I didn’t feel like I really lost it, it was just a couple things here, couple things there,” he said in a post-round interview on CBS.

With the final round hyped as a showdown between the genial McIlroy, the face of the PGA Tour, and the bold disruptor DeChambeau, cheerleader for the upstart LIV golf league he jumped to, it was easy to forget there were other contenders eager to defy the recent trend in which eight of the past eight winners had emerged from the final pairing.

Rose was the noisiest challenger, bouncing back from a 75 Saturday to post his blistering 66 Sunday, punctuated with a birdie on the final hole.

“To make the putt on 18 (in regulation), the one you dream of as a kid, to give me an opportunity and a chance was unbelievable,” he said on CBS.

Another contender was Canadian Corey Conners, who added another top-10 Masters finish to his resume. He entered the final round in third place but stalled, posting a 3-over 75 that left him in a tie for eighth place.

Patrick Reed placed third, his best showing at a major since winning the 2018 Masters. World No. 1 Scheffler, who never seemed to find his higher gears, still managed to finish in fourth spot. Sungjae Im shared fifth with DeChambeau.

Rory McIlroy’s 2025 Masters equipment

Qi10 9.0° driver (Ventus Black 6X)
Qi10 15.0° 3-wood (Ventus Black 8X)
Qi10 18.0° 5-wood (Ventus Black 9X)
P·760 4-iron (Project X 7.0)
Rors Proto 5-9 (Project X 7.0)
MG4 46° SB, 50° SB, 54° SB, 60° LB (Project X 6.5)
Spider Tour X Short Slant
TP5

CANADIAN CONTENT

Corey Conners, from Listowel, Ontario, showcased remarkable consistency throughout the tournament. He began with an impressive four-under-par 68 in the opening round, positioning himself among the leaders.

Maintaining his form, Conners entered the final round in third place at eight-under-par, playing alongside 2018 Masters champion Patrick Reed. Although he faced challenges on the final day, Conners concluded the tournament tied for eighth at five under, marking his fourth top-10 finish at Augusta National.

While he didn’t become Canada’s second green jacket winner, following in the footsteps of his idol Mike Weir, he stayed in the leader conversation all week and showed that his elite ball-striking serves him well at Augusta National, and major championships in general.

Nick Taylor, from Abbotsford, B.C., also made the cut and completed the tournament tied for 44th at three-over-par. Weir and Taylor Pendrith, making his Masters debut, rounded out the Canadian contingent. Neither advanced past the second round.