2025 Masters Review

Nick Ewing

Staff Writer

The 2025 Masters Tournament at Augusta National delivered a historic and emotionally charged week, culminating in Rory McIlroy’s long-awaited triumph. After 11 attempts, McIlroy finally secured his elusive green jacket, completing the career Grand Slam and becoming the first European and only the sixth ever to achieve this feat.

There were a number of storylines to follow leading up to the masters; could world number one, Scottie Scheffler, secure back-to-back wins and his third in four years? Would a LIV Golf player win the tournament? But most people were wondering if Rory McIlroy could finally win after years of heartbreak at Augusta. 

The tournament began with Justin Rose setting the pace, shooting an impressive 65 to lead after the first round. McIlroy got off to a hot start but had two double bogeys on holes 15 and 17, putting him in a tie for 27th after day one.  On day 2, Rory shot an impressive 66 and put himself back into contention. On day 3, Rory came out of the gates on fire with six consecutive threes on holes 1 through 6, a Masters first. He shot another 66, giving him a 2-shot lead over second-place Bryson DeChambeau going into Sunday, the man he lost to just last year at the U.S. Open in heartbreaking fashion.

The final round was a rollercoaster. Rory scored a double bogey on hole one, leading many to think he was going to collapse in the biggest tournament once again. He was able to get back on track until he encountered Amen Corner, the daunting three-hole stretch that has decided many masters tournaments in the past. He had a bogey on 11 and a par on 12. Going into hole 13, Rory had a 4-stroke lead over second-place Justin Rose and decided to start playing very safe. He layed up on the par 5 but hit his 80-yard chip shot into the water hazard, resulting in another double bogey. He then bogeyed hole 14 after missing a short putt, giving up the lead to Justin Rose. 

This was something fans had witnessed many times at Augusta for the past 11 years, Rory collapsing and coming up just short of the green jacket, and it appeared that it was going to happen once again. But then, Rory began hitting some of the most clutch shots of his career. Hole 15, birdie, hole 17, birdie. Going into hole 18, all he needed was a par, and the career grand slam was his. He hit a great drive down the left side of the fairway but missed his approach shot right, into a greenside bunker. He got out of the bunker and left himself with a five-foot putt between him and the green jacket. Then, he missed it. 

This forced a playoff with Justin Rose, who had finished the round earlier and was just hoping Rory would mess up. They both replayed hole 18. Justin Rose hit a series of great shots but just barely missed his birdie putt, leading to a par. The door was open for Rory; he just needed to make his five-foot birdie putt this time, and he did just that, dropping to both knees in tears. After 11 years, Rory McIlroy had finally secured the green jacket, completing the career grand slam and putting him in legendary company.