'I'm off to get a Green Jacket' - tearful Rory McIlroy wins 89th Masters

It was a Holywood script as the man from Holywood earned his place in the history books.

At the 11th attempt, Rory McIlroy finally joined Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as the only players to complete a career grand slam by winning The Masters.

But, boy, did the world No 2 put himself through the wringer before finally securing his Green Jacket in the event’s 89th edition and, in the process, ending an 11-year drought in the majors.

Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland celebrates winning the 2025 Masters Tournament | Richard Heathcote/Getty Images

After a nightmare double-bogey start in the final round, McIlroy regained his composure and looked to be coasting to victory with a four-shot lead only to have an untimely timely brain fart.

With a wedge in his hand, he put his third shot at the par-5 13th into Rae’s Creek and, shortly afterwards, Englishman Justin Rose had jumped into the lead.

Back came McIlroy and, though Rose rolled in a 20-footer for a birdie at the last to finish on 11 under, he was out in front again after hitting the shot of his life at the 17th.

A par at the last and it was job done but, despite negotiating the hardest part by booming a driver up the fairway, he inexcusably found sand with a wedge and then missed on the low side from six feet to win it.

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For the second time in his career, Rose found himself in a play-off here, having been pipped by Sergio Garcia in 2017 - two years after he’d also finished second to Jordan Spieth.

On this occasion, the 44-year-old almost holed his second at the first play-off hole as they returned to play the 18th in a sudden-death shoot-out before McIlroy replied by knocking his approach to just three feet.

Rose slightly pushed his 15-footer and, this time, McIlroy wasn’t going to mess it up, bursting into tears as he fell to the ground after knocking in the winning putt.

After keeping a lid on things throughout the week, he was overcome with emotion as he hugged both his wife Erica and daughter Poppie at the back of the green as the patrons chanted “Rory, Rory, Rory”.

He did it the hard way, but, in the end, that didn’t matter as he finally claimed the prize that had slipped from his grasp in 2011 after squandering a four-shot lead in the final round.

He was congratulated by close friends Shane Lowry and Tommy Fleetwood, as well as Rose’s wife Kate, after walking over to the recording area before declaring to some friends: “I’ve got to go and get a Green Jacket!”

Before having that slipped over his shoulders by 2024 winner Scottie Scheffler in the Butler Cabin, McIlroy admitted: “It feels incredible. This is my 17th time and I started to wonder if it would ever be my time.”

He described trying to complete the career grand slam as a “burden” and said that “a lot of pent up emotion came out” on the 18th green, having created history as the first player to overcome four double bogeys in the week to come out on top.

There were more tears as he talked about how much he was looking forward to heading home to Northern Ireland to celebrate with his mum and dad, Rosie and Gerry, neither of whom were at the Georgia venue.

McIlroy joined Nick Faldo (1990) and Tiger Woods (2005) as the only players to come from seven shots behind after the first round to claim this prize. Having opened with a 72, he then carded back-to-back 66s before closing with a 73 that he admitted was a “struggle” on a day he had felt “very nervous”.

It was another jaw-dropping start for McIlroy, who’d opened with a record-breaking six straight 3s on Saturday, but only because he took the same number of strokes on one hole on this occasion than he had for two 24 hours earlier.

Rory McIlroy shakes hands with Justin Rose after the play-off at Augusta National Golf Club | Harry How/Getty Images

Bunkered off the tee, he made the cardinal sin of pitching beyond the back-left pin position, raced his 18-foot par putt eight foot past and missed it, with his two-shot overnight lead disappearing straight away as Bryson DeChambeau, his playing partner, moved level with him on 10 under after making a great par from the trees on the left.

When the two-time US Open champion then got his nose in front by making a birdie at the par-5 second, where McIlroy found sand again from the tee and couldn’t reach the green in two, it was the worst-possible opening 30 minutes for the Northern Irishman, but the next half an hour was even more astonishing.

McIlroy, who went with driver and wasn’t far away from driving the green, rolled in a testing nine-footer that was breaking sharply to the right as it caught the edge of the hole, raising an almighty roar, and it was back to where they had started as DeChambeau three-putted from 30 feet.

It had been clear from the first tee that there was love for both players from the patrons, but, as cries of “Rory, Rory Rory” broke out when McIlroy walked on to the fourth tee, there was no denying that the majority wanted to see the day end with history having been matched.

And, by the time they’d walked off the first of the par 3s, McIlroy was back on course to make that happen, hitting a peach of a long iron ten feet and rolling that in for another birdie, which, with DeChambeau pulling his tee shot and being unable to save par, meant a third two-shot swing in just four holes.

It was truly incredible what had unfolded in the first hour or so and, after pushing his tee shot into the trees, McIlroy would have been relieved to maintain what had turned from a deficit into a three-shot advantage by converting a testing ten-footer at the fifth, which had been the toughest hole on two of the opening three days.

McIlroy was laughing his socks off after finding the tiniest of gap high up in the pine trees on the left side of the seventh fairway to send his 9-iron second shot to six feet but left his birdie attempt agonisingly short before then failing to birdie the par-5 eighth for the second day, though on this occasion a par went on his card as opposed to a bogey.

Rory McIlroy reacts after taking a double bogey on the 13th hole | Andrew Redington/Getty Images

It was a classic match-play situation at the ninth, where both players spun their second shots back to around seven feet and, having left himself the slightly easier putt, McIlroy took full advantage of being first to go on the green by rolling it in then watching DeChambeau miss his attempt.

Remarkably after his nightmare start, McIlroy turned in one under to lead by four shots - three more than 2011 - from DeChambeau, as well as Rose and Aberg as they did their best to try and muscle into the picture.

Seconds after Rose, who’d led after the first and second rounds, had almost eagled the 13th but moved into double figures McIlroy knocked in a 15-footer at the tenth to make the perfect start for home and, in the process, well and truly bury his demons there from 2011 after hitting one of the worst tee shots of his career.

You need luck on your side to win majors and, on this occasion, McIlroy’s came at the 11th, where he was a fraction away from going in the water after turning a low shot around the trees on the right but over-doing it.

A bogey there, though, wasn’t a disaster, especially after DeChambeau, who was having to force it a bit at that stage in the proceedings, did find that water and, after following a double bogey there with a bogey at the 12th, his race had been run.

A bogey at the 14th after almost being stymied by a tree with his drive took some of the wind out of Rose’s sails. The Englishman, though, wasn’t giving up without a fight and a brilliant bunker shot at the 14th got him back to within three shots.

No doubt pleased to see that Scheffler had, indeed, left himself too far back at the start of the day to get close enough to apply some pressure, McIlroy knew at that stage that he didn’t need to take any unnecessary risks over the closing stretch, hence why he went with a 3-wood from the tee at the 13th then laid up with a 7-iron.

Left with a wedge in his hand, he should have walked off with a par at worst, but it was ludicrous that he went for the flag rather than the safe part of the green and an untimely visit to Rae’s Creek resulted in a fourth double bogey of the week.

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As that drama was unfolding, Rose had knocked his tee shot at the 16th, where the hole location was up on the right side of the green as opposed to down in the hollow on the left in honour of it being there when Jack Nicklaus holed a monster putt en route to claiming his fifth Green Jacket in 1975, to five feet.

In it went and, after being seven shots worse than McIlroy when they had both completed their first ten holes of the day, the former US Open and Olympic champion suddenly found himself sharing the lead on 11 under par.

He then found himself out in front on his own as McIlroy, having blocked himself out with his drive, left a par putt hanging on the edge of the hole at the 14th, but, just as everyone started to fear the worst, McIlroy came up with something special.

At the par-5 15th on Saturday, he walked after a towering 6-iron from the middle of the fairway that set up an eagle from six feet. It was difficult to imagine he could surpass that but did. With a 7-iron this time, he hooked a beauty around the trees on the left to the same distance. There was no eagle this time, though, and he could have done with it.

Because, after dropping a shot at the 17th, Rose responded brilliantly by rolling in a 20-footer for a birdie at the last to set the clubhouse target and, after missing a good opportunity at the 16th, the pressure was all on McIlroy’s shoulders as he played the final two holes.

Did he have one final bit of magic at the end of a week that had seen him produce some of the best shots of his career. ‘Yes’ was the answer as he sent a beauty with his second at the 17th to around four feet, walking after that one as well, and knocked it in to regain the lead at a crucial time.

There was one final twist to come before McIlroy secured his place among the golfing greats, with Rose, as ever being gracious in defeat as he finished runner-up for the second successive major after losing out to Xander Schauffle in the 152nd Open at Royal Troon last summer.

“I wanted to be the bad guy,” he said of finding himself locked in a battle with his Ryder Cup team-mate, “but it was a momentous occasion for the game of golf.”

It certainly was.