Rory McIlroy's path to a professional grand slam is no longer more compelling.
In his first Masters, there will be four pairs of fights alongside the Three Eagles and 18 times. The 72-66-66-73 round barely cut the surface through the last day, known as the last day of the showdown of Rory vs Bryson, played in the playoffs with Justin Rose.
We narrated for a week, which is now five times and five-time Grand Slam champions.
1. McIlroy has been one of the most honest and open characters in the game for most of his career. You rarely want to know what he thinks about any topic, it is this candid who makes him so popular. He didn't leave much behind in the pre-tournament press conference.
“At some point in someone’s life, someone doesn’t want to fall in love because they don’t want to break their hearts. I think people are instinctively like humans, sometimes because they are afraid of being hurt, whether it’s conscious or subconscious decisions, and I think I’ve been doing it for a few years on the golf course for a few years.
“Once you've gone through these heartbreaks, you can remember what it feels like the next day, you're like, yes, life isn't as bad as I thought. I've had the chance to win some of the biggest games in the world over the past few years and nothing happened. Sometimes.”
2. McIlroy's main record always has a large top 10, but in recent years, most notably in St Andrews and Pinehurst, he threatened to break the duck. He has taken various breakthrough approaches, but his approach has been more consistent since 2020.
“That was after the 2019 season. I'm going to win four times around the world. I won the FedEx. I have my best stats season. But I don't have a good season in the Big Championship. I made a promise to myself. From 2020, starting in 2020, I'm going to do a first-year job every week of the year, not a year for a year, and I'm going to do a job that I personally don't sit in the past few weeks.
3. You don't have to play in the third stroke, but McIlroy plays with Shane Lowry and Tommy Fleetwood and his daughter Poppy. The last time he was asked the never-ending question, is it a week or not.
Poppy road from downtown pic.twitter.com/ptn3e0p62q
– Rory McIlroy Tracker (@RMTRACKER) April 9, 2025
“I preached the year all year, but just managed my game and minimized my mistakes. If I got myself out of the way and put myself in the right position again. As long as I was smart and very logical and rational about everything. If I could do it for four days, I felt like there would be a big chance.”
4. McIlroy was very smooth on Thursday, with four of the first 14 holes not falling. Then, on the chance to get the fifth birdie at 15, he would cut it too hard into the water and ended with 72 doubles. Interestingly, he didn't seem to know that he could replay the shot. He left the course without talking to the media.
“I hit two good shots of 15 and I feel like I've hit a good chip shot. I'm really surprised, not very fast, I know it's a fast chip, it's just the first bounce that's so firm. The green is stronger than any other green, even the other three new greens, and I don't even know that these few guys have done it yet, and that's what I did.
“Obviously, I was surprised that I did it, and I forgot that I could try to play it again. I went straight to the drop zone and then I thought, I thought, I could have tried to chip it back again.”
5. McIlroy returned the next morning and shot a bogey-free 66, and doubled on Thursday’s No. 15 with the help of 31 defenders, he birded on Friday. He will enter two weekends of the lead held by Justin Rose.
“I just wanted to leave what happened here after I left the hotel last night. I rushed here and went home to see Poppy before she went to bed.
“I feel like I'm just doing a great job in resetting. I had a good conversation with Bob Rotella, mostly trying to push those shots back without much effort. You can see me starting with eight pars on the front nine and a birdie. I really had patience. I felt patience paid off in a nice atmosphere. It was in the middle, and part again.
6. There will also be his first eagle of the week, from 13-year-old Pine Straw.
Roaring into a dispute. The McIlroy Hawks are 13th and are now tied for fourth place. #Themaster pic.twitter.com/1I65HRKD33
– Master (@Themaster) April 11, 2025
“Like the forwards before 189. I don't think it's really a decision, but I'm between 4 and 5 iron heads. Usually the ball spins more from the pine straw. So I hit 4 irons, I hit 4 irons, and then, I sure saved it and I'm glad to hit 4 corners there.
“When the ball was in the air, I was like, you're an idiot, what did you do? It's a pin, and it's not a routine even if you do hit it in danger, but it's much easier than that front pin than that front. I rode a little bit of luck on the second photo.”
7. McIlroy played a major role in Saturday's six 3s starts. He revealed that his swing was fast within driving range, which helped him smash the 371-yard driver in the opening hole. He entered Sunday with a two-shot lead.
Rory McIlroy started his third round with a 371 yard drive on the first hole. #Themaster pic.twitter.com/fjkjyq2e0d
– Master (@Themaster) April 12, 2025
“There is a lot of anticipation and anxiety energy.
8. The Sunday of the first ring is the same as Saturday. McIlroy was once famous for blowing in a way when paired with Patrick Reed in 2018 and had an understanding nerve again.
“I have that knot in my belly, and haven't eaten much all day. Trying to force food. Your legs are kind of like jelly, those natural nerves, they are all beautiful things. If you don't feel like that, I think that's a problem, that's more than when you've had the next battle, this is my battle, this is my battle, this is my battle, this is my battle, this is my battle, this is my battle, this is my battle. My battle with me is not my mind and stays in the present.”
9. If McIlroy didn’t win the 2025 Masters, then away from all kinds of missed putts, this is the stadium for 13-year-old Rae’s Creek, which is the most shocking. He had half Augusta to the left of the pin, somehow found the water of the game.
“Walking to the 13th tee, I was thinking, I could punch three holes next to 4, 4, 4. I really just wanted to split it into three points. I felt like I was hitting 10, 11, 12 well. I was trying to hit 13, 14, 15 well. Not fully realized. I basically just split it into three holes.
“I thought I'd hit the 13th hole smartly, and at least in the first two shots, Miki put a good spot from the tee. I had 82 yards of pins. It went into a small valley and it was uphill. Usually when I hit the wedge, they fell on a little bit when I hit it. A little weak, a little right.”
10. In doubles and recovery, McIlroy won six birdies in the regulations and one overtime. His best shots might surprise you.
Rory McIlroy Birdies, again at 11 under par. #Themaster pic.twitter.com/xx9q0iuh1p
– Master (@Themaster) April 13, 2025
“It might be the second time at 7 o'clock, but I think the most important thing is the third shot. I started 6, 5. I put on a good t-shirt on 3. It's not an easy second. It's not an easy shot, knocking it on that mountain. Judge that mountain and doing it 3 times there, when Bryson was there, and then shot a 5 in Bryson and then in the next hole, I thought about the next hole, and I thought it was a big moment.”
Read more: Rory McIlroy won the Masters, but what else can he achieve in 2025?
