Rory McIlroy attained golfing immortality on Sunday night with a well-deserved victory at Augusta National, Afrosport reports.
McIlroy hit in a three-foot putt to beat Justin Rose in a crucial play-off to finally win his first Masters title and complete the career Grand Slam in a dramatic final round.
Following a missed par putt to win in regulation, McIlroy’s birdie on the first extra hole denied Rose as he claimed the biggest prize of his career.
The world applauds. #themasters pic.twitter.com/pb5eXUx51m
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 14, 2025
Having won the US Open, The Open and two US PGA Championships, the Northern Irishman completed the full set of major championships at the 11th attempt.
“It feels incredible,” said an emotional McIlroy. “This is my 17th time here, and I started to wonder if it would ever be my time?
“I’d say it was 14 years in the making, from going out with the four-shot lead in 2011 – feeling like I could have got it done there. There was a lot of pent-up emotion that just came out on the 18th green. But a moment like that makes all of the years and close calls worth it.”
McIlroy, who let out a huge roar after his victory and ended an 11-year drought in major tournaments, was helped into the Green Jacket by last year’s winner Scottie Scheffler.
He became the sixth man – and first European – to clinch the Slam, joining Americans Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as well as South Africa’s Gary Player.
“I’ve carried that burden since August 2014, nearly 11 years – not just about winning my next major, but the career Grand Slam, to join only five players to do it,” he said.
“I watched a lot of my peers get Green Jackets in the process; it’s been difficult. I’ve tried to approach this tournament with the most positive attitude every time I’ve turned up, and I think the accumulative experience I’ve gained coming back here every year, I feel like I get a little more comfortable with the shots needed.
“But there’s talking about it and actually doing it. It was a heavy weight to carry but thankfully now I don’t have to carry it and it hopefully frees me up. I know I’m coming back here every year, which is lovely!”
