After years of heartbreak at Augusta, Rory McIlroy finally laid claim to his long sought after Green Jacket, joining golf’s most exclusive club, alongside the legendary Jack Nicklaus.
It was a round full of ups and downs for the Northern-Irish man, who, after carding two bogeys – and a one-over 73 – clinched a hard-fought playoff victory over fellow Brit, Justin Rose.
His win marked his fifth Major success, his first in almost 11 years, and put an end to McIlroy’s hunt for the coveted career grand slam, becoming just the sixth player in history to achieve the feat.
The 35-year-old has now one three times already in the 2025 season, with victories at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and The Players Championship, in January and March respectively.
All-time great Jack Nicklaus revealed his surprise surrounding McIlroys approach to Augusta National on Sunday.
Jack Nicklaus’ says Rory McIlroy changed third hole approach
Speaking at a charity event at Ohio State University on Tuesday, the six-time Masters winner shared some insights into McIlroy’s performance, having sat down for lunch with the modern-great during the prior week.
“He made double bogey on the first hole,” Nicklaus said, “and did not birdie the second hole. And he had told me the week before [the tournament], I had asked him, how are you going to play the third hole? He said, ‘Three of my tee shots are going to be with the driver down underneath the green, and when the pin’s left, I’m going to lay it back.’ And then he drove it with the pin left, and I thought, ‘he’s ticked.’
“I said, ‘We’re going to find out whether he’s going to get away with it or not.’ And he did. He got away with it, but he got away with it by playing a beautiful pitch shot [to make birdie].
“I think he felt that inside himself that he was not playing the smart play by laying back. He was already rattled. To play that full shot in there, he might’ve even made a worse shot out of it. So he went and played it the other way and made birdie. And I think that set the tone for what happened the rest of the day.”
Jack Nicklaus sings McIlroy’s praises following his determination despite setbacks
“I give him a world of credit,” Nicklaus revealed. “He had the whole golfing world with mountains on his shoulders, and he’s now gotten rid of them.
“The golf community wanted to see Rory complete his Grand Slam. More than winning the Grand Slam, he wanted to win the Masters, and the Masters has been his bugaboo for a while.”
The Masters was the last Major on McIlroy’s to-do list, though not for lack of trying. He’s had four previous top-five finishes, though never managed to quite do enough to end his wait for the green jacket.
There has been no shortage of mistakes during McIlroy’s years at Augusta, and this year was no different.
Heading into Sunday, the five-time major winner had a comfortable two-shot advantage, needing to just hold on and keep Bryson DeChambeau at arm’s length.
However, a double bogey on the first quickly swung the momentum out of the Brits’ favour.
After clawing back the lead, he made his second – potentially tournament defining – blunder of the day, with McIlroy sending his ball into Rae’s Creek on his approach shot on 13.
Speaking on the wealth of Mistakes the newly crowned champion made, Nicklaus stressed that McIlroy’s slip-ups only further highlight his golfing prowess.
“He certainly made enough mistakes to lose the tournament, but he has so much talent, and he kept overcoming some of the things that he did … the four double bogeys. Nobody’s ever done that. But he did enough good things, and you got to think back and say, how much talent does he really have or must he have to overcome what he overcame? I’m very proud of him.”
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