Where did Rory McIlroy win the best ever?

check in weekly For unfiltered opinions from our writers and editors, they broke down the hottest topics in the sport and joined the conversation by tweeting on Twitter @golf_com. This week, we talked about where Rory McIlroy's Masters won the best ever.

1. Now we have a week of fully digesting the masters of 2025 Rory McIlroy's first green jacket (and professional grand slam), where will you rank it as the best master of all time?

Assistant Editor Zephyr Melton (@zephyrmelton): I can only reliably rank Masters in my life (since 1994) and in that time frame I ranked it in the top three, with 1997 and 2019 being the others. Sunday’s excitement mixed with historical implications makes it one of the best watches I’ve ever had. What a game.

Josh Schrock, Assistant News Editor (@schrock_and_awe): For me, this is probably the best of my life. Tiger’s victory in 2019 was amazing, and it was an incredible feat of his last time at Augusta National to be the Tiger Woods, but the final round itself wasn’t as exciting as we witnessed last week. That's because the tiger hit the middle of the fairway and the Greens, and Rory oscillated between full flight and total collapse. The yo-yo nature of the final round, plus the Grand Slam, and the worst wreckage of Rory's career, was my number one. I will go to 2025, 2019 and 1997 to mention the honors of 2004.

Nick Piastowski, Senior Editor (@Nickpia): Wow, I've been thinking about this all week. Jack in 1986. Mize's chip. Tiger's first and last victory. There are some great people. But this owner has nothing? Close rankings. Good rankings. Dramatic finish. Ecstasy and popular winners. It's definitely hard to beat.

2. In his Masters title, a major drought broke and finally got rid of his shoulders, what do you expect to see from McIlroy in the remaining three majors? Did you choose him as your early favorite to win any of the remaining three?

Melton: When you are hot, you are hot. Golfers tend to win, and it is crucial to take advantage of this when the window opens. I wouldn't be surprised to see Rory see Rory many times in the hunt this season, especially in the Grand Slam.

Schroker: With the completion of the professional grand slam and the dust is flying, why not win all four? Next comes Quail Hollow's PGA, where McIlroy's career takes a place. The Open is Royal Parthush who has a course record at Royal Porthush, one of the best Open players in the U.S. in the past four years – he just has no wins to show. I think he won at least once this year, especially after Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele are still searching for injuries.

Piastowski: Yes. I came in. I fell into the victim of new prejudice like a major in every major, but it doesn't seem too strange to choose him as the next three favorites. Schroker explained why. But yes, golf. Being a favorite is one thing. Winning is another one. Shooting, people thought Scottie Scheffler was the same later in December.

3. Last week, Rory Justin Thomas Ended his winless downturn, beating Andrew Novak in the playoffs at Port Town for his first win since the 2022 PGA title. Thomas reminded us of his firepower on Thursday 61. What made him retreat during this unwind extension?

Melton: Golf is hard, and even the best in the world has experienced a downturn. Watching the Superstars through the struggle reminds us of the hardships of this game and offers even greater appreciation for those who have year after year.

Schroker: I think Zephyr nailed it. Thomas won a lot of competitions from 2015 to 2022. Thomas was inaccurate with the driver when driving the swing, and then his usually reliable putter disappeared. Everything seems to be back, which is good news for the PGA Tour. At their peak of strength, the more stars, the better. Next: Jordan Spieth?

Piastowski: Swinging stuff. Something to expect. Other advantages are something better. It happened. But then it snowballed, which was hard to eradicate. However, it's fun to watch the all-round JT. Yes, his first PGA championship victory was at Quail Hollow.

4. Wesley Bryan Bryan was suspended indefinitely by the PGA Tour in Liv Golf's “The Duels: Miami” match, and Bryan confirmed to Ryan French of Q Info on Monday. We also recently learned that YouTube creator Grant Horvat, who participated in the same event, received an invitation from his sponsor later this year. Handle any of these issues?

Melton: The sight of suspending WES after providing a waiver to Grant Horvat is not good. However, as a travel member, Brian should maintain a different standard than the content creators. If I'm honest, I don't care about YouTube golfers at all, and I'm a little tired of talking about them.

Schroker: I don't understand why conditional PGA Tour members like Wes Bryan are participating in these creator events first. Why did the people who fought with Fat Perez and Rick Shiels last year need to stay in close relationships? YouTube golf is not my business. Bryan should probably maintain a different standard than Horvat. But it's not a good look. I don't care.

Piastowski: Man, I actually like YouTube golf. It is fast, digestible, and very graceful. OK, the question. Yes, the optics are weird. It is not good to see news about pauses and invitations almost at the same time. As far as its value goes, I also think it's possible to exempt Bryan – it's not an actual liv event, but nothing is competing for – but he also seems to know what he's getting involved in.

5. LPGA begins major season at the Chevron Championship in Woodlands, Texas Nelly Korda defends her title. What are the main storylines we need to monitor?

Melton: Can Jeeno Thitikul take the next step? She has been one of the most stable golfers in the world for the past few years, but she hasn't done it in the profession yet. I want to see her on Sunday night in the hunt.

Schroker: I was going to go with Rose Zhang, but her recent WD talks about whether she can put it into practice due to a neck injury. I'm going with Charlie Hull. Hull is a star, very suitable for women's competition, but now it's time for her to finally eliminate a big champion.

Piastowski: Can Nelli defend it? Her start time this year was slow – no wins, but no layoffs. Of course, strong performance will eliminate this.

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