Rory McIlroy secures career grand slam with dramatic Masters playoff win over Justin Rose

Rory McIlroy, Masters champion. Four words that belie what this remarkable Northern Irishman achieved on a spine-tingling afternoon at Augusta National. They ignore, too, the torturous process he endured to realise this lifetime goal.

Did he win the 85th Masters the hard way? Too right he did. From a seemingly untouchable position, McIlroy was dragged back into a scrap he was so desperate to avoid. He emerged from it on the first extra hole, where the unlikely adversary of Justin Rose was nudged aside. Rory McIlroy, Masters champion.

No wonder the scenes were so moving and emotional as McIlroy battered down the Masters door. He reduced so many others to tears, let alone himself. Finally, they were of unbridled joy. It almost felt as the heartache had been worth it. What a ride. What a gobsmacking, exhausting ride. From 5ft on the last hole of regulation play, McIlroy missed his chance to claim the Masters. Soon, he would be hugging his lifetime friend and caddie Harry Diamond in a scene of euphoria.

McIlroy joins Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus as winners of golf’s career grand slam. He also has Tiger Woods, his childhood idol, for company in that special group. We have known about McIlroy’s genius since he flicked golf balls into a washing machine on national television in 1999. He had long since been holing putts outside the family home on the outskirts of Belfast with the dream of winning the Masters. Little did anybody know that his career would be so storied, so dramatic, such compulsive viewing.

McIlroy did not exactly sprint into the pantheon of legends. Augusta National tugged upon every dark corner of his psyche, from a point where McIlroy looked like he would enjoy a procession. Rose and Ludvig Åberg had late hope. Rose’s rampaging 66 meant second at 11 under. McIlroy’s 73 tied that. Patrick Reed took third.

Rory McIlroy putts the birdie to win the 2025 Masters. Photograph: Richard Heathcote/Getty Images

More than a decade had passed since McIlroy won the last of his quartet of majors. Near misses had come and gone, none as painful as at the US Open last year. It felt appropriate that McIlroy had Bryson DeChambeau, the man who pipped him at Pinehurst, for company here. DeChambeau capsized. He spent Saturday evening watching James Bond movies and yesterdaySunday afternoon starring in one: Bogeys Galore.

There were moments which inferred the golfing gods were on McIlroy’s side. He played a dangerous, low second shot to the 11th which clung on for dear life at the top of a bank leading to a water hazard. Moments later, DeChambeau found the same pond.

There were also examples of McIlroy’s jaw‑dropping talent, such as the second shot to the 7th, which danced through trees. Those who criticise McIlroy’s propensity to live dangerously should remember the theatre when his audacity pays off.

McIlroy’s nerves were jangling to the extent he made a terrible mess of the 1st, his double bogey cancelling out a two-stroke lead. DeChambeau licked his lips: a DeChambeau birdie to McIlroy’s par at the 2nd and the Californian was ahead.

McIlroy jabbed back with a birdie at the 3rd as DeChambeau three‑putted. DeChambeau did the same at the next with McIlroy’s birdie earning him a three-stroke lead. It remained that way until the 9th, where McIlroy collected another shot and DeChambeau wasted an opportunity. McIlroy smiled when reaching dry land at the 12th, his playing partner now six back. The danger lay elsewhere; Rose and Åberg.

Yet with six holes to play the only person who could beat McIlroy was McIlroy himself. Case in point: the 13th, where McIlroy laid up before astonishingly chipping into Rae’s Creek. Cue his fourth – yes, fourth – double bogey of the week. Åberg made a four at the 15th for 10 under. Rose had birdied the same hole. McIlroy’s five‑shot lead after 10 evaporated into a three-way tie as his par putt on the 14th somehow remained above ground. How would he recover from tossing this away? How would he ever recover?

McIlroy’s iron into the 15th, bent around pine trees from 209 yards, is among the finest of his life. A birdie ensued. Rose matched 11 under at the 16th. Although he then made a triple bogey at the last, Åberg’s race ended on the penultimate hole. Up ahead, Rose converted for a closing birdie – he had made a bogey at the 17th – to again tie McIlroy. A downhill birdie putt on the 16th gave McIlroy fresh hope but it missed to the right.

Rory McIlroy on his knees after making history. Photograph: Erik S Lesser/EPA

One birdie from the last two was needed to avoid a playoff. There, Rose would not be lacking in incentive; he lost in extra holes to Sergio García in 2017. McIlroy delivered that birdie on the 17th but wobbled on the last. Tension, wild tension.

When dust eventually settles we will be left to ponder what on earth else McIlroy might fixate on for the remainder of his career. He has reached the promised land in only his 36th year. Rory McIlroy, Masters champion.