2025 Masters highlights: Rory McIlroy wins, completing golf’s Grand Slam

Rory McIlroy has endured plenty of anguishing moments while seeking to snap a decade-long drought in major championships.

That made celebrating Sunday’s win at the Masters with his caddie and longtime friend Harry Diamond all the more special.

They became friends after meeting on a putting green in Holywood, Northern Ireland, when they were 7 years old and have remained close since. When McIlroy decided to make a change on his bag in the summer of 2017, he asked Diamond to become his caddie.

Critics questioned the move, asking whether Diamond was the best man for the job. But McIlroy remained loyal and he says those who questioned Diamond “don’t know anything about the game.”

He says the Masters win “is just as much his as it is mine.”

Justin Rose congratulated Rory McIlroy on winning the Masters and becoming the sixth player to complete golf’s career Grand Slam.

Even though he almost prevented that from happening.

Rose said, “I wanted to be the bad guy today.” And like any good villain, he pushed the hero to the limit.

Rose shot a 6-under 66 in the final round on Sunday that was good enough to force a playoff after McIlroy bogeyed the 72nd hole.

The 44-year-old concluded his own round in more rousing fashion, holing a 20-foot birdie putt and looking to the heavens.

They played the 18th again in sudden death and McIlroy made birdie to finally put Rose away.

Scottie Scheffler had hoped to become the first winner of back-to-back Masters since Tiger Woods in 2002 and the first to win three of four since Jack Nicklaus in the 1960s.

He had to settle for a fourth-place finish.

Scheffler won nine times in 2024 but hasn’t won this year. After his final round at Augusta National, he said he was proud of his mental approach that helped him finish three shots out of the playoff between winner Rory McIlroy and runner-up Justin Rose.

“It was easily a week in which I could have gotten frustrated with either how I was playing or how I was swinging or stuff going on on the course, not hitting it where I was looking,” Scheffler said. “I was just proud of the way we hung in there and put up a good fight.”

Tiger Woods took to social media on Sunday night to congratulate Rory McIlroy on becoming the sixth player to win the career Grand Slam.

“Welcome to the club,” wrote Woods, who did not compete at this year’s Masters because of a ruptured Achilles tendon. “Completing the grand slam at Augusta is something special. Your determination during this round, and this entire journey has shown through, and now you’re a part of history. Proud of you!”

Woods was the previous player to complete the Grand Slam. He did it 25 years ago in the British Open at St. Andrews.

It took McIlroy much longer — this was his 11th try at the Masters since he got the third leg of the Slam in 2014 — but the feat was no less impressive.

Hey, Jordan Spieth and Phil Mickelson, you got next?

Rory McIlroy became the sixth player to win the career Grand Slam on Sunday with his victory at the Masters, leaving Spieth and Mickelson as the only active players in need one of more major victory to join the elusive club.

The 54-year-old Mickelson has won six majors and needs a win at the U.S. Open to complete the slam. That’s looking increasingly unlikely given his age. He’s only exempt into the U.S. Open for one more year from his win at the PGA Championship in 2021.

The 31-year-old Spieth has won the Masters, the U.S. Open and the British Open, but still needs to win the PGA Championship to join a club that includes McIlroy, Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player and Gene Sarazen.

Rory McIlroy’s elation was Justin Rose’s anguish.

Rose put up a valiant fight on Sunday, shooting a 6-under 66, but the 44-year-old Englishman ultimately failed in his quest to become the second-oldest player to win a green jacket.

Jack Nicklaus was 46 when he won his sixth Masters in 1986.

Rose joins Ben Hogan as the only players to lose two playoffs at the Masters. He also lost the last sudden-death playoff at Augusta National, in 2017 to Sergio Garcia. Like McIlroy, Garcia birdied the first playoff hole.

Hogan fell to Byron Nelson in 1942 and Sam Snead in 1954. However, Hogan also won two Masters among his nine majors, while Rose’s only major win came at the 2013 U.S. Open.

Rose called it “disappointing” and added: “I think to lose in a playoff for the second time kind of punctuates both of them and makes you realize just how close you’ve been.”

Nike didn’t take long to congratulate Rory McIlroy, one of its most recognizable athletes, following his win at the Masters.

The company posted a 30-second spot on social media with audio of a radio announcer discussing McIlroy’s quest for his first green jacket while showing garments moving along a rack at a dry cleaner.

Eventually, the clothes stop moving when a garment bag with the name “McIlroy” on it emerges. Taped to the bag is a note that reads, “Sunday pick up.”

The ad closes with a caption that reads, “This was always waiting for you.”

Rory McIlroy’s parents, Gerry and Rosie, were back home in Northern Ireland when he finally won his first Masters in his 17th try.

Reminded of the sacrifices they made to help him achieve his goal of becoming one of golf’s greatest players, McIlroy teared up in a televised interview with CBS after he was presented with the green jacket.

McIlroy’s parents met when they were working at the same bar in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and they raised their only child in Holywood, about 10 miles to the northeast. His father worked primarily as a bar manager and both his parents took extra jobs to help finance McIlroy’s promising junior golf career. Gerry McIlroy worked bartending shifts at Holywood Golf Club, where his son learned the game, and Rosie worked at a factory.

When he birdied the first hole of a sudden-death playoff to finally win the Masters, Rory McIlroy collapsed to his knees, let out a triumphant roar and later sobbed as he embraced his 4-year-old daughter, Poppy.

McIlroy also got a bear hug from good friend Shane Lowry of Ireland, who lifted the 35-year-old Northern Irishman off the ground.

After McIlroy’s putt dropped, fellow competitor and longtime Ryder Cup teammate Justin Rose stood stoically at the side of the green and then congratulated McIlroy’s caddie, Harry Diamond, with a handshake.

Rory McIlroy is a Masters champion — finally — after one more perfect iron shot on a Sunday that no one who witnessed it will soon forget.

McIlroy hit a gap wedge from 126 yards to 4 feet on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff with Justin Rose, who hit his own fine approach to the par-4 18th. But Rose missed from 15 feet and McIlroy holed out for birdie and the long-awaited victory. He collapsed to the ground and let out a joyous roar before hugging his caddie, Harry Diamond.

McIlroy becomes the sixth player to complete the career Grand Slam by winning all four of golf’s major championships. The last was Tiger Woods when he won the British Open at St. Andrews in 2000.

The 35-year-old McIlroy won his first Masters in his 17th attempt and became the first player since Arnold Palmer came up with the idea of a modern Grand Slam to finish it off by winning at Augusta National.

McIlroy had been trying for a decade for the Grand Slam and his fifth major title overall. His last was at the 2014 PGA Championship.

Justin Rose and Rory McIlroy started their sudden-death playoff at the Masters on the par-4 18th hole.

The Masters is the only one of golf’s four major championships to use the sudden-death format. Competitors alternate the 18th and 10th holes until a champion is determined.

The last playoff was between Sergio Garcia and Rose in 2017. Garcia made birdie on the 18th to win.

In regulation on Sunday, Rose birdied the 18th to shoot 66. McIlroy made bogey to shoot 73.

Justin Rose and Rory McIlroy are going to a sudden-death playoff at the Masters after McIlroy made bogey on the 18th hole at Augusta National.

It’s the 18th playoff in Masters history and first since Rose lost to Sergio Garcia in 2017.

McIlroy had a one-shot lead after making birdie on the par-4 17th. After a perfect drive on the 18th, he missed his approach to the right into a greenside bunker. He blasted out to 5 feet but his putt missed left.

McIlroy closed with a 1-over 73. Rose shot 66. They finished at 11-under 277 over 72 holes.

Rory McIlroy hit another great iron shot to move one par away from the Masters title.

McIlroy yelled “Go! Go! Go!” after striking his approach from 197 yards on the par-4 17th hole. The ball listened, settling 2 feet away for birdie to get him back to where he started his very eventful day: 12 under par.

Justin Rose, who shot 66 to post 11 under, was staying loose on the practice tee while McIlroy holed his short putt.

Patrick Reed couldn’t see his approach shot into the 17th hole at the Masters, but not to worry: It was perfect.

Reed holed out for an eagle 2 from 146 yards, with the ball flying directly into the hole.

The 2018 Masters champion shrugged his shoulders in the fairway because he couldn’t tell where the ball ended up — for good reason.

The shot moved him to 9 under par, two shots off the lead posted moments earlier by Justin Rose.

Justin Rose holed a 20-foot putt for birdie on the par-4 18th hole to shoot a final-round 66 in the Masters.

The English veteran finished at 11-under 277, and it was up to Rory McIlroy to match him or beat him.

Rose led after the first and second rounds at Augusta National but fell off the pace with a third-round 75. After making 10 birdies on Sunday, he has a chance to win his first green jacket at age 44 in his 20th Masters start.

Rose lost a playoff to Sergio Garcia in 2017.

Rory McIlroy hit the spectacular shot he needed when his hopes of winning the Masters appeared to be slipping away.

Part of a three-way tie for the lead after dropping three shots over his previous two holes, McIlroy hit a high, sweeping draw with a 7-iron from 208 yards to 6 feet on the par-5 15th hole.

He missed the eagle putt but tapped in for birdie to move one stroke in front.

McIlroy made double bogey at 15 on Thursday, birdie on Friday and eagle on Saturday.

Max Homa arrived at the Masters working on his swing and struggling with his game. Now he knows he’ll be back next year.

Homa found something over the final three days at Augusta National, posting three straight rounds under par to finish the week at 4-under 284. That put him inside the top 12, which will earn him an invitation to the Masters next year.

This time last year, Homa was inside the top 10 in the world and had a great week at the Masters, finishing tied for third. He only has one top-10 finish since and has fallen to 81st in the rankings.

Until Friday, he hadn’t made a cut against a full field since the British Open last July.

Rory McIlroy appeared in full command at the Masters until a shocking double bogey on the par-5 13th hole.

McIlroy laid up with his second shot and then dumped his third into the water in front of the green. After a penalty drop, he pitched onto the green and two-putted for a 7. It was his fourth double bogey this week, and no one has won the Masters with more than three.

Moments later, Justin Rose holed a short birdie putt on the par-3 16th to tie McIlroy for the lead.

What may have been Bryson DeChambeau’s last chance at tracking down Rory McIlroy in the Masters ended up wet.

Just like last year, when Scottie Scheffler’s closest pursuers made a mess of Amen Corner, the U.S. Open champion found himself trailing by five shots as DeChambeau and McIlroy headed to the long par-4 11th hole at Augusta National.

While McIlroy narrowly avoided the water — and ended up making bogey — DeChambeau wasn’t so fortunate. His big hook from the middle of the fairway landed in the pond fronting the green.

DeChambeau was forced to take a drop and couldn’t get up-and-down from there, and the result was a double bogey that may have ended his chances of winning the green jacket.

Rory McIlroy has the lead heading into the back nine on Sunday at the Masters for the first time since 2011.

McIlroy shook off a double bogey on the first hole to play the front nine in 1-under 35. That was good enough for a four-shot lead over playing partner Bryson DeChambeau, Justin Rose and Ludvig Aberg.

McIlroy is seeking to win his first green jacket and complete the career Grand Slam that has eluded him for a decade.

In 2011, McIlroy opened the Masters with a 65, led by four shots through 54 holes and still led by one standing on the 10th tee. But he snap-hooked his tee shot and it came to rest between two cabins. He ended up shooting 80.

That year didn’t turn out too badly for McIlroy. He won the U.S. Open at Congressional by eight shots for his first major title.

Defending champion Scottie Scheffler wasn’t intent on going away quietly on Sunday at the Masters.

Scheffler never really got things going all week, and he began the final round 5 under but a full seven shots behind the leader, Rory McIlroy. But after the world No. 1 dropped another shot at the fourth, Scheffler came back a few minutes later with three straight birdies, generating the kind of roars that he heard while winning at Augusta National last year.

Ludvig Aberg, the runner-up a year ago, began the day 6 under. He birdied the first and made another at the par-3 sixth, a rarity on the day. That allowed him to at least put a little bit of pressure on leader Rory McIlroy.

Justin Rose also was bouncing back from his third-round 75. He led after the first two rounds before faltering on Saturday. But back-to-back birdies at the seventh and par-5 eighth, where he nearly holed his second shot and wound up two-putting, he was able to make the turn at 7 under for the tournament.

Justin Thomas feels like he ought to play well at Augusta National. The two-time major champion has all the skills required to contend in the Masters.

He just hasn’t done it very often.

Thomas concluded a quiet Masters by shooting a 2-under 70 on Sunday. It was his best round of the week and he finished at 2-over 290.

This was Thomas’ 10th Masters and he has two top-10 finishes. His best was fourth in 2020.

Thomas has plenty to look forward to. The PGA Championship next month is at Quail Hollow in Charlotte, North Carolina. He won the PGA when it was played there in 2017.

He’s also hoping to qualify to play for the United States at the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black in September, saying after his round: “It’s a huge goal of mine.”

Rory McIlroy lost the lead at the Masters by making a 6 and a 5 on the first two holes, then got it back by making a 3 and a 2.

No shortage of excitement at Augusta National.

After McIlroy failed to birdie the par-5 second hole, he pulled off a delicate up-and-down on the short par-4 third for birdie. Bryson DeChambeau three-putted for bogey to cough up the lead.

McIlroy followed with a birdie on the 232-yard, par-3 fourth with a beautiful long iron to 9 feet. DeChambeau missed the green to the left and couldn’t get up-and-down.

Just like that, McIlroy was ahead by three shots. There were three two-shot swings between the final pairing in the first four holes.

When Rory McIlroy made his third double bogey of the week at the Masters, he did something that’s been almost impossible to overcome.

McIlroy made two doubles in the first round to shoot 72. He began his final round with a two-shot lead but doubled the par-4 first hole.

Craig Stadler in 1982 is the only player with three doubles to win the Masters. Nick Faldo in 1990 is the last to double the first hole of the final round and go on to win.

Each of those tournaments was decided in a sudden-death playoff.

There is more to play for than just a green jacket at the Masters.

The winner takes home $4.2 million from the $21 million purse. The total prize payout is up by $1 million over last year’s tournament.

Scottie Scheffler banked $3.6 million last year for winning his second Masters title.

The Masters will pay $52,920 for 50th place and incrementally less to the other three players below that who made the cut. Even those who missed the cut were paid $25,000.

The Players Championship remains the richest tournament with a $25 million purse. McIlroy got $4.5 million for his victory last month.

It took Bryson DeChambeau two holes to overtake Rory McIlroy and move into the lead at the Masters.

DeChambeau got up-and-down for par on the first hole after hitting his drive into the pine straw on the left, and he converted a tough two-putt birdie on the par-5 second.

Meanwhile, McIlroy took more strokes through two holes than he did through three holes a day earlier.

His first two tee shots found fairway bunkers. On Saturday, he flew his ball over both of those bunkers to set up a birdie-eagle start.

McIlroy three-putted for a double-bogey 6 on the first hole and made par on the second.

Bryson DeChambeau expected the final day at the Masters to be electric. That certainly was the case outside the clubhouse awaiting the arrival of DeChambeau and Rory McIlroy for the final pairing.

Spectators, Augusta National members and guests formed a thick corridor from the clubhouse to the practice putting green. The clubhouse staff came out to the balcony to watch from above.

McIlroy arrived first to the loudest cheers. He is the sentimental favorite as he goes for the career Grand Slam. He looked confident and comfortable.

Some 10 minutes later, DeChambeau wore a wide smile and held both arms out widely to slap hands with everyone he could.

There was barely an inch of grass between spectators when they teed off. A big crowd. A big day.

Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau have begun their pursuit of the Masters green jacket.

The final pair teed off at 2:30 p.m. surrounded by huge galleries in glorious conditions — sunny skies, temperatures in the upper 60s and a light breeze.

Both missed the fairway on the par-4 opening hole. McIlroy found a fairway bunker and DeChambeau hooked his drive into the pine straw on the left.

Both are multiple major champions but neither has won the Masters. This is the 17th Masters appearance for McIlroy and the ninth for DeChambeau.

McIlroy finished second in 2022. DeChambeau’s best result was a tie for sixth last year.

▶ Read more about the course, including famous shots played at every hole, the average score and where each hole ranks in difficulty.

The final round at the Masters has been billed as a heavyweight showdown between Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau.

Few are talking about Corey Conners, the steady and soft-spoken Canadian who is four shots back of McIlroy and two behind DeChambeau after rounds of 68, 70 and 70.

He may need something a little more than that on Sunday at Augusta National -- something akin to his 7-under 65 in the second round of the 2020 Masters -- if he hopes to become the first Canadian to win a green jacket since Mike Weir in 2003.

Earlier this week, Conners joined Weir and fellow Canadians Nick Taylor and Taylor Pendrith in skipping balls across the pond on the 16th hole.

Bookmakers aren’t particularly buying into the underdog story: Conners was listed at 16-1 to win at midday Sunday.

But clearly he won’t be under the same intense spotlight as McIlroy and DeChambeau.

Conners, whose best finish at a major was a tie for sixth at the 2022 Masters, called flying under the radar “a cool position to be in,” and added, “just doing my thing, and we’ll see what happens.”

It’s hard to come back from a big deficit in the final round to win the Masters, but Ludvig Aberg and Patrick Reed at least put themselves in position to try.

Each shot a 3-under 69 on Saturday to move up the leaderboard. They begin play Sunday six shots behind Rory McIlroy.

Reed worked his way into the second-to-last group alongside Corey Conners. He won the Masters in 2018, and his last top-10 finish in a major was two years ago at Augusta National.

Reed now plays on LIV Golf and has fallen in the world rankings because LIV events don’t offer ranking points. A high finish at the Masters could help him get into the year’s other majors.

Aberg finished second last year in his Masters debut. The Swede is ranked fifth in the world.

Keep an eye on the patrons in the final round of the Masters, and look for a fellow with a telephoto lens and perhaps a backward-turned ballcap. You might just notice him as one of the best baseball players of his generation.

That’s right, Ken Griffey Jr. is on the grounds as a photographer for Masters.com.

The Hall of Famer picked up sports photography as a hobby after his playing days, and he’s shot the World Series, the All-Star game, NFL games and soccer — not to mention driving the pace car during his trip to the Indy 500 last year.

This is Junior’s first time shooting golf, though he’s played Augusta National once before.

He talked to The Associated Press this week about learning the ropes outside of the ropes.

“I can go out there and rattle off 30,000 pictures — anybody can — but it’s about so much more than that. The lighting is a big thing, the background,” he said. “But this has been a really fantastic week and I’m really grateful for the opportunity.”

Hideki Matsuyama has shown that Augusta National is still susceptible to low scores.

The 2021 Masters champion shot a final-round 66 on Sunday, making his only bogey on the par-4 18th hole.

Matsuyama was in the second group to tee off in the morning after he didn’t make a single birdie in Saturday’s third round and shot 79.

Justin Rose’s opening-round 65 remains the best round of the tournament so far. Rory McIlroy shot 66 on Friday and again on Saturday to take a two-shot lead.