McIlroy Dramatically Survives Play-Off To Win The Masters & Join Golf’s Elite Grand Slam Club

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It’s been a long, patient and sometimes frustrating wait but Rory McIlroy has not only remarkably captured a maiden Masters but he’s now joined tne most elite group of golfers in all of men’s pro golf – the Grand Slam Club.

There had been five but now we have six players who can lay claim to membership to the Grand Slam club and with McIlroy becoming a first in some 20-years to do so.

However it took 18 agonising, dramatic and sometimes frightful holes and then a play-off for McIlroy to claim victory with a birdie at the first extra hole over good friend and fellow European Ryder Cup colleague, Justin Rose after both players ended regulation play tied at 11-under.

McIlroy has achieved the effort in his 17th appearance at Augusta National and in his 64th major championship since making his debut at the game’s highest level at the 2009 Masters.

In doing so, McIlroy joins Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as Grand Slam champions.

And in the bigger picture the final round of the 2025 Masters was very much a microcosm of McIlroy’s life over the past decade.

McIlroy headed into the last day of the year’s maiden major championship leading by two shots but that was nadvantage was wiped-out after an opening hole double-bogey that saw him tied with Bryson DeChambeau on 10-under but when the reigning US Open birdied the second, McIlroy found himself one shot behind.

McIlroy superbly regrouped to birdie three and four to find himself two clear and from thereon he was never headed, birdieing the nith and 1oth holes to be four clear while DeChambeau, and struggling with his distance control dropping further behind before his challenge virtually ended with an 11th hole double-bogey.

However, there was more drama when McIlroy doubled the par-5 13th but putting his third shot into the water guarding the green in taking a double-bogey and then dropped his sixth shot of the day with a bogey on 14.

McIlroy then pulled off probably the shot of his round at the par-5 16th in curving his approach shot around trees and holing a birdie putt to tie Rose at 11-under but another super shot, his approach into 17, to grab his seventh birdie to move one clear at 12-under.

The agony was still there when he put his approach shot at 18 into a greenside bunker but with McIlroy missing his par putt in a round of 73 and sending the 89th Masters into a play-off.

McIlroy then sealed victory birdieing the 18th, and the first extra hole, after Rose had two-putted for a par.

It feels incredible,” he said.

“This is my 17th time here and I wondered if it would ever be my time. The last 10 years coming with the burden of the grand slam – I’m wondering what we’ll talk about going into next year’s Masters. I’m honoured, thrilled and proud to call myself Masters champion.

“When I hit the wedge into the creek on 13, I felt like I did a great job of bouncing back – and the double bogey on the first as well. I was really nervous going out and the double bogey at the first nearly settled me a bit.”

Ryder Cup legend and SKY commentator Paul McGinley summed it up: “”The number of times this guy has been battered in the last 11 years. Today was a microcosm of that. He did it four times today. That takes so much mental strength. I’m full of admiration for the human Rory McIlroy to show the strength to do that.”

And Butch Harmon also speaking on SKY said: “We saw an amazing man go through everything that could go wrong, everything that could go right, and he pulled it off.

“You could not write a Hollywood script said Butch Harmon as we witnessed out there today “Tiger never had the stress that Rory had out there today in winning a maiden Masters”.

Grand Slam Winners Age …

Gene Sarazen (1935) – 33 years & 1 month

Ben Hogan (1953) – 40 years & 11 months

Gary Player (1965) – 29 years & 7 months

Jack Nicklaus (1966) –  26 years & 6 months

Tiger Woods (2000)- 24 years & 7 months

Rory McIlroy (2025) – 34 years & 11 months

McIlroy – Timeline Between Majors …

2011 US Open to 2012 PGA Championship: 1 year, 1 month & 23 days

2012 PGA Championship to 2014 Open Championship:  1 year, 11 months & 8 days

2014 Open Championship to 2024 PGA Championship:  21 days

2014 PGA Championship to 2025 Masters:  10 years, 8 months & 3 days

Total Number of Strokes To Win A Masters … 4,449

Masters Rounds Played – 62

Lowest Score – 64

Highest round – 80

Rounds Under Par – 36 + Sunday

McIlroy’s Lowest Final Round Score – 64 (Runner-up 2022)

McIlroy Masters Memorbilia – 

2025

Augusta National members jacket

Trophy,  Gold Medal

Crystal Vase: Day’s Low Score (66), Round 3

Crystal Vase: Day’s Low Score (66), Round 2

Pair of Crystal Highball Glasses:  Eagle, Round 3, Hole 2

Pair of Crystal Highball Glasses:  Eagle, Round 3, Hole 15

Pair of Crystal Highball Glasses:  Eagle, Round 3, Hole 13

2022

Sterling Silver Salver: Runner-up
Silver Medal: Runner-up
Crystal Vase: Day’s Low Score (64), Round 4
Pair of Crystal Highball Glasses: Eagle, Round 4, Hole 1

2019

Pair of Crystal Highball Glasses: Eagle, Round 2, Hole 8
Pair of Crystal Highball Glasses: Eagle, Round 3, Hole 15
Pair of Crystal Highball Glasses: Eagle, Round 4, Hole 13

2018

Crystal Vase: Day’s Low Score (65), Round 3
Pair of Crystal Highball Glasses: Eagle, Round 3, Hole 8

2016 

Crystal Vase: Day’s Low Score (71), Round 2
Pair of Crystal Highball Glasses: Eagle, Round 1, Hole 13

2015 

Crystal Vase: Day’s Low Score (66), Round 4
Pair of Crystal Highball Glasses: Eagle, Round 2, Hole 13
Pair of Crystal Highball Glasses: Eagle, Round 3, Hole 2

2013

Pair of Crystal Highball Glasses: Eagle, Round 2, Hole 8

2011 

Crystal Vase: Day’s Low Score (65), Round 1

2009 

Pair of Crystal Goblets: Eagle, Round 2, Hole 13



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