There’s no way to proclaim which Masters tournament was the greatest ever. For every solid opinion, there is an equally sustainable one. One can certainly submit the 2025 playing as a candidate for this impossible quest. A golfer who had finished in the top ten SEVEN times since 2014, without winning, took the lead into the final round, after what looked like a give-away in round one. Another golfer, loser of a playoff for the title in 2017, led through 36 holes but appeared to give the tournament away himself on Saturday. Despite the presence of the 2024 U.S. Open champion in the final pairing, despite the threat of a half-dozen younglings looking to break through the major-championship ceiling, those two aforementioned golfers met in a playoff to decide the 2025 tournament.

Was that an elusive-enough, mysterious-enough introduction for you? Same here. For sure, the headline gave it away, but if not, let’s get down to facts. Rory McIlroy began day four with a two-shot advantage over Bryson DeChambeau, the man who ripped the 2024 U.S. Open from the Northern Irishman’s hands. Keep in mind that McIlroy had not won a major since 2014, when he won two of the four. Since that year, he has had five top-ten finishes in the Open, three in the PGA, and seven in the U.S. Open. That’s a total of 22 nearlies without a victory. If DeChambeau were to snatch another slam event from Rors, especially this one, it would perhaps have been the final nail.

Why this one? It’s the major that Rory needed to win the career Grand Slam. He longed to join Bobby Jones, Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, and Tiger Woods as winners of the men’s four contemporaneous major titles. Rather than focus solely on his quest, McIlroy stepped intentionally into the fray that is golf’s division since 2021. He saw the health of the PGA Tour as critical for historical and future purposes. If that doesn’t wear a man down, not much else will.

His opponent in the playoff was Justin Rose. Rosie lost a playoff to Sergio Garcia in 2017, four years after he won his only major title at Merion’s 2013 U.S. Open. Rose is one of the great guys, a player deserving of everything that golf can offer. He and his wife support every possible charity and cause, and he turned down an offer to break from the PGA and DP World tours to join LIV. He was Rory Lite, standing guard over golf’s history, flawed though it may be.

How did these two golfers get to this point? What had transpired over the previous eight hours? Let’s begin with Rose. He began the day at five-under par, reeling from a third-round 75. He was an afterthought, replaced by younger, brawnier players. Rose ripped a drive into the first fairway, hit an approach eight feet past the hole, and drained the putt for the first of ten birdies on the day. That’s right…Rose made four bogeys over his final 18 holes, including consecutive ones at four and five. He let none of them bother him. On the back nine, he made par but at the 1oth. He rose to birdies across Amen Corner, posted bogeys at 14 and 17, but added three more avians at 15, 16, and 18. He put a number on the board and made those behind him take notice.

What happened next? Well, DeChambeau was the first to falter, as he made bogeys at three and four, then rinsed his approach on eleven, resulting in a double. He went deep on twelve, protecting on another visit to Rae’s Creek, and could not get up and down from the bunker. The two-time US Open champion made bounce-back birdies at 13 and 16, but a final bogey at 17 relegated him to seven-under par and a tie for fifth.

For a time, it appeared the 2024 runner-up Ludvig Aberg might sneak in and steal a new blazer and a clubhouse trophy. Aberg reached ten-under par through the fifteenth green, thanks to five birdies against one bogey. Feeling that he might need another birdie to put a scare into McIlroy, he pressed. The result was horrific. Approach to the wrong side of the 17th green, followed by a too-strong first putt, resulting in bogey. Drive on 18 into the first of two fairway bunkers, and second shot left in the bunker, resulting in triple bogey. Aberg is young and should shake off the scar tissue.

After one hole on Sunday, it appeared this would be the eighth time in eleven years that McIlroy had an opportunity and could not collect on it. He opened with six on the par four, and the nay-sayers were a-clutter in the coop. Seriously, you should see my group chat. It got better, then worse, then better again, then worse. Despite par at the second, McIlroy found his rudder with birdies at three and four. He was back to even on the day, and would gain two more shots back, at seven and eight, before another bogey found his card, at the ninth.

At thirteen, the site of so many catastrophic Masters moments, McIlroy appeared to add another. He rinsed his second and made double bogey. He followed that with another bogey at fourteen, and was back to ten-under par. With Rose in the clubhouse at 11-deep, things were grim. Forever will the 15th hole be inscribed upon Rory’s heart. It nearly undid him on Thursday, where his brashness cost him a seven. Over the next three days, he played it in four-under par, and no birdie was ever more needed, nor more buoyant, than the one he made on April 13th, 2025. McIlory stuffed an approach to 24 inches on 17, and had the lead once more. And when you thought it was over, it wasn’t.

The 18th hole is long, uphill, and curvy. It has trouble everywhere, and it caught McIlroy. He made bogey, and he and Rose were off to sudden-death and sudden-life. Both hit marvelous approach shots into the hole, but Rose was unable to bring his back off the hill. His fifteen-foot putt for three was game, but wavered. With three feet left to glory, Rory came through, and the wait was finally over.

So raise a glass of your favorite libation to the haberdasher’s newest friend. At long last, Rory Daniel McIlroy has a lifetime invitation to play the Masters Tournament each April. He moves to the Elysian rank of 15th, which is where golfers with five major titles reside. With the final monkey off his back, who knows what we might see from him in 2025? He loves Quail Hollow in Charlotte, which is the site of the PGA in May. Although he missed the cut at Oakmont in 2016’s US Open, with two majors in his pocket, the juice might be in his veins. Can you imagine the calamity if he arrives at Royal Portrush in July, needing only the Open championship to win the yearly grand slam? My goodness!

*featured image via the PGA Tour