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Every year since 2015, Rory McIlroy has faced the same question from the media at the Masters Tournament: Winning at Augusta National Golf Club and thus achieving the career Grand Slam.
Some years he’s been expansive in his answer. This year, he labeled it “noise” and was ready to move on to the next query.
That “when will you win” question was put to rest Sunday, when the 35-year-old from Northern Irelandwon the 89th Masters, beating Justin Rose on the first hole of a sudden death playoff.
“I'd like to start this press conference with a question myself,” McIlroy said when he reached the interview room of the Press Building after his victory. “What are we all going to talk about next year?”
It will probably be about how he overcame what he termed a roller coaster round ― two double bogeys, two bogeys and five birdies in regulation before his playoff winner ― to be the last man standing.
“Look, it's a dream come true,” said McIlroy, who rolled in a 4-foot birdie putt on No. 18 after Rose missed his 15-foot attempt. "I have dreamt about that moment for as long as I can remember."
For McIlroy, this is his fifth major championship but first since he won the 2014 PGA Championship. The pressure to end that drought was compounded by the need to win the Masters to complete the career Grand Slam, something only five players had done.
“It's very difficult,” McIlroy said. “I think I've carried that burden since August 2014. … watching a lot of my peers get green jackets in the process. … yeah, look, it was a heavy weight to carry, and thankfully now I don't have to carry it and it frees me up and I know I'm coming back here every year which is lovely.”
Fellow Northern Irishman Shane Lowry, even after a final-round 81, was there at the end to give McIlroy a bear hug. They are the best of friends and usually play practice rounds and eat lunch together at tournaments. They also teamed up to win the PGA Tour’s two-man Zurich Classic last year and will try again in two weeks, which will be McIlroy’s next start.
“I think, for him, it’s been everything,” said Lowry of McIlroy’s intertwined quests to win the Masters and the career Grand Slam. “You know, he might not have wanted to say that, but it’s genuinely been everything for him over the last 10 years.
“It’s all he thinks about,” said Lowry. “It it’s all he talks about. Always said to me he’d retire a happy man if he won the green jacket. I told (McIlroy's wife) Erica he can retire now.”
Indeed, McIlroy said he remembered as a 7-year-old watching Tiger Woods win his first green jacket in 1997 by 12 shots.
“I think that inspired so many of my generation to want to emulate what he did,” he said.
Woods, the five-time Masters champion who didn’t play this year because of a ruptured Achilles, has said for years that McIlroy would win the Masters one day. Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tom Watson all said the same thing before the first round of this year’s tournament.
“It's tough,” McIlroy said. “You know, you've had Jack, Gary, Tom, Tiger, you name it, come through here, and all say that I'll win the Masters one day. That's a hard load to carry, especially - it is. It really is. You know, these are idols of mine, and it's - look, it's very flattering that they all come up here and they believe in me and they believe in my abilities to be able to win this tournament and, you know, achieve the Grand Slam and all that. But it doesn't help, you know,” he said with a laugh.
After McIlroy won, Woods congratulated him on X, saying “welcome to the club. Completing the grand slam at Augusta is something special. Your determination during the round, and this entire journey has shown through, and now you’re part of history. Proud of you!”
There was also inspiration from an unlikely source before the round. Former Masters champion Angel Cabrera left a note in his locker on Sunday morning, wishing him luck. Cabrera, who won the 2009 Masters, was McIlroy’s playing partner in the final round of the 2011 Masters. That’s when McIlroy blew a four-shot lead, shot 80 and tied for 15th.
“It was a nice touch and a little bit ironic at the same time,” McIlroy said. “It's been 14 long years, but thankfully I got the job done.”
When it was all over, all that emotion poured out on the 18th green. After winning, he knelt on the ground and openly sobbed.
“It was all relief,” he said. “There wasn't much joy in that reaction. It was all relief. And then, you know, the joy came pretty soon after that. But that was ― I've been coming here 17 years, and it was a decade-plus of emotion that came out of me there.”
McIlroy has always talked about his resiliency, which is why he knows every word to the 1981 Journey song ‘Don’t Stop Believin.”
He needed that self-belief, because at this Masters he was seven shots off the lead after a first-round 72. He followed that with 66-66-73 and became only the third player to come back from seven back after Day 1 to win.
It helped that Lady Luck was riding shotgun with McIlroy for a change, especially after all the heartbreaking major losses he’s suffered. He got fortuitous breaks on Nos. 5, 7 and 11 on Sunday.
“I've rode my luck all week. And again, I think with the things that I've had to endure over the last few years, I think I deserved it,” he said, with another laugh. “So, yeah, anytime I hit it in the trees this week, I had a gap. Even the second shot on 7 today, which I probably shouldn't have taken on. Harry (Diamond, his caddie) was telling me not to. I was like, ‘No, no, I can do this.’”
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Loran Smith: 50 years removed from Jack Nicklaus' fifth green jacket, memorable Sunday
It was his third victory of the season, including the Players Championship, where he won despite not having his best stuff, he said at the time. He had some spectacular shots en route winning the Masters but also made some poor decisions which led to four double bogeys.
“I don't know if any Masters champions had four doubles during the week, but maybe I'm the first,” McIlroy said.He is the first. The record had been three, by Craig Stadler in 1982.
Two of those doubles came on Sunday, on Nos. 1 and 13.
“You know, there was points on the back nine today, I thought, you know, 'Have I let this slip again?' But you know, again, I responded with some clutch shots when I needed to, and really proud of myself for that.”
After he opened with double bogey, McIlroy thought back to the 2023 Masters.
“In a funny way, I feel like the double bogey at the first sort of settled my nerves,” McIlroy said. “And it's funny, walking to the second tee, the first thing that popped into my head was Jon Rahm a couple years ago making double and going on to win. So at least my mind was in the right place, and was at least thinking positively about it.”
As expected, the final round eventually became a two-man show, with McIlroy in the starring role. Bryson DeChambeau, who was in second place, two back, was supposed to be his biggest rival. However, DeChambeau faded and the real rival turned out to Rose, who had 10 birdies in a round of 66.
“It’s ironic how these things happen,” McIlroy said. “We were invited to a dinner by a few members of the club on Tuesday night, and we were the only two players at that table, and we are the ones that end up being in the playoff. It's funny how these things work.”
McIlroy will have other plans at Augusta National on the Tuesday night of the 2026 Masters. He’ll be the host of the Champions Dinner.
This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Masters 2025: How Rory McIlroy finally ended his Augusta frustration
Continue reading...
Some years he’s been expansive in his answer. This year, he labeled it “noise” and was ready to move on to the next query.
That “when will you win” question was put to rest Sunday, when the 35-year-old from Northern Irelandwon the 89th Masters, beating Justin Rose on the first hole of a sudden death playoff.
“I'd like to start this press conference with a question myself,” McIlroy said when he reached the interview room of the Press Building after his victory. “What are we all going to talk about next year?”
It will probably be about how he overcame what he termed a roller coaster round ― two double bogeys, two bogeys and five birdies in regulation before his playoff winner ― to be the last man standing.
“Look, it's a dream come true,” said McIlroy, who rolled in a 4-foot birdie putt on No. 18 after Rose missed his 15-foot attempt. "I have dreamt about that moment for as long as I can remember."
'I think, for him, it's been everything'
For McIlroy, this is his fifth major championship but first since he won the 2014 PGA Championship. The pressure to end that drought was compounded by the need to win the Masters to complete the career Grand Slam, something only five players had done.
“It's very difficult,” McIlroy said. “I think I've carried that burden since August 2014. … watching a lot of my peers get green jackets in the process. … yeah, look, it was a heavy weight to carry, and thankfully now I don't have to carry it and it frees me up and I know I'm coming back here every year which is lovely.”
Fellow Northern Irishman Shane Lowry, even after a final-round 81, was there at the end to give McIlroy a bear hug. They are the best of friends and usually play practice rounds and eat lunch together at tournaments. They also teamed up to win the PGA Tour’s two-man Zurich Classic last year and will try again in two weeks, which will be McIlroy’s next start.
“I think, for him, it’s been everything,” said Lowry of McIlroy’s intertwined quests to win the Masters and the career Grand Slam. “You know, he might not have wanted to say that, but it’s genuinely been everything for him over the last 10 years.
“It’s all he thinks about,” said Lowry. “It it’s all he talks about. Always said to me he’d retire a happy man if he won the green jacket. I told (McIlroy's wife) Erica he can retire now.”
Indeed, McIlroy said he remembered as a 7-year-old watching Tiger Woods win his first green jacket in 1997 by 12 shots.
“I think that inspired so many of my generation to want to emulate what he did,” he said.
Woods, the five-time Masters champion who didn’t play this year because of a ruptured Achilles, has said for years that McIlroy would win the Masters one day. Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tom Watson all said the same thing before the first round of this year’s tournament.
“It's tough,” McIlroy said. “You know, you've had Jack, Gary, Tom, Tiger, you name it, come through here, and all say that I'll win the Masters one day. That's a hard load to carry, especially - it is. It really is. You know, these are idols of mine, and it's - look, it's very flattering that they all come up here and they believe in me and they believe in my abilities to be able to win this tournament and, you know, achieve the Grand Slam and all that. But it doesn't help, you know,” he said with a laugh.
What next for Rory after finally conquering Masters?
After McIlroy won, Woods congratulated him on X, saying “welcome to the club. Completing the grand slam at Augusta is something special. Your determination during the round, and this entire journey has shown through, and now you’re part of history. Proud of you!”
There was also inspiration from an unlikely source before the round. Former Masters champion Angel Cabrera left a note in his locker on Sunday morning, wishing him luck. Cabrera, who won the 2009 Masters, was McIlroy’s playing partner in the final round of the 2011 Masters. That’s when McIlroy blew a four-shot lead, shot 80 and tied for 15th.
“It was a nice touch and a little bit ironic at the same time,” McIlroy said. “It's been 14 long years, but thankfully I got the job done.”
When it was all over, all that emotion poured out on the 18th green. After winning, he knelt on the ground and openly sobbed.
“It was all relief,” he said. “There wasn't much joy in that reaction. It was all relief. And then, you know, the joy came pretty soon after that. But that was ― I've been coming here 17 years, and it was a decade-plus of emotion that came out of me there.”
McIlroy has always talked about his resiliency, which is why he knows every word to the 1981 Journey song ‘Don’t Stop Believin.”
He needed that self-belief, because at this Masters he was seven shots off the lead after a first-round 72. He followed that with 66-66-73 and became only the third player to come back from seven back after Day 1 to win.
It helped that Lady Luck was riding shotgun with McIlroy for a change, especially after all the heartbreaking major losses he’s suffered. He got fortuitous breaks on Nos. 5, 7 and 11 on Sunday.
“I've rode my luck all week. And again, I think with the things that I've had to endure over the last few years, I think I deserved it,” he said, with another laugh. “So, yeah, anytime I hit it in the trees this week, I had a gap. Even the second shot on 7 today, which I probably shouldn't have taken on. Harry (Diamond, his caddie) was telling me not to. I was like, ‘No, no, I can do this.’”
Masters tickets 2026: Missed out on tickets this year? Here's when you can apply for 2026
Loran Smith: 50 years removed from Jack Nicklaus' fifth green jacket, memorable Sunday
It was his third victory of the season, including the Players Championship, where he won despite not having his best stuff, he said at the time. He had some spectacular shots en route winning the Masters but also made some poor decisions which led to four double bogeys.
“I don't know if any Masters champions had four doubles during the week, but maybe I'm the first,” McIlroy said.He is the first. The record had been three, by Craig Stadler in 1982.
Two of those doubles came on Sunday, on Nos. 1 and 13.
“You know, there was points on the back nine today, I thought, you know, 'Have I let this slip again?' But you know, again, I responded with some clutch shots when I needed to, and really proud of myself for that.”
After he opened with double bogey, McIlroy thought back to the 2023 Masters.
“In a funny way, I feel like the double bogey at the first sort of settled my nerves,” McIlroy said. “And it's funny, walking to the second tee, the first thing that popped into my head was Jon Rahm a couple years ago making double and going on to win. So at least my mind was in the right place, and was at least thinking positively about it.”
As expected, the final round eventually became a two-man show, with McIlroy in the starring role. Bryson DeChambeau, who was in second place, two back, was supposed to be his biggest rival. However, DeChambeau faded and the real rival turned out to Rose, who had 10 birdies in a round of 66.
“It’s ironic how these things happen,” McIlroy said. “We were invited to a dinner by a few members of the club on Tuesday night, and we were the only two players at that table, and we are the ones that end up being in the playoff. It's funny how these things work.”
McIlroy will have other plans at Augusta National on the Tuesday night of the 2026 Masters. He’ll be the host of the Champions Dinner.
This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Masters 2025: How Rory McIlroy finally ended his Augusta frustration
Continue reading...
