A Prophecy Fulfilled
As Rory McIlroy looks to repeat as Masters’ champion, let’s take a look back at his grand slam victory last year:
As the sun sets on another week at The Masters, this one finishes a little bit differently from those that have passed. In the past 20 years there have been big moments, such as Phil’s “Win for the Family” in 2010 as his wife, Amy, was dealing with Breast Cancer. Adam Scott’s “Win for the Ages” as he made birdie on the 10th (second playoff) hole in the rain. Sergio Garcia’s playoff victory in 2017, and of course, Tiger’s “Return to Glory.” But this one was different. Tiger’s 2019 will always be held higher than them all because of his age, what he had been through, and the perseverance it took for him to win. But for all of the rest, 2025 blows them out of the park.
In the summer of 2015, I remember sitting on the couch on a Monday afternoon watching the final round of The Open Championship at St. Andrews, as I waited for our Section 2 Championship game that evening. I remember the broadcast talking about a star that wasn’t playing that week, his name, Rory McIlroy. McIlory had ruptured a tendon in his ankle playing soccer (or football) mere weeks before the tournament began. He had won the final two major championships the previous year – making it four in four years. I wasn’t really a Rory fan then, it was in 2016 that my fandom began, when I really got into golf. It was Rory’s charge to win the 2016 FedEx Cup – the PGA TOUR’s playoffs, that created this fandom. I remember being at the McDonald’s on the 101 Freeway at Las Virgenes with NBC streaming on my phone as he made birdie on the fourth playoff hole to win, and from there I was hooked.
My golf fandom waxed and waned between late 2016 to early 2019. I remember watching Tiger’s victory at Augusta, and then Rory winning his second FedEx Cup that fall. But it was during the pandemic that I really got into golf. When the season restarted, I remember wanting Rory to win the three majors that were played, but nothing came of it.
Fast forward to 2022, Rory holed-out from the bunker on Holly, Augusta National’s 18th hole to shoot 64 and finish second at the 86th Masters. That week was all about Scottie Scheffler, but Rory’s second-place finish got the world thinking that he was back. At the 2022 and 150th Open Championship at St. Andrews, the course he couldn’t play on eight years earlier. Rory went into the final round tied for the lead, and four strokes ahead of third place: it was his time to break the drought. It had been eight years since he had won a major championship. Rory ended up losing by two strokes. It was at this time that Rory became the de facto TOUR leader, as LIV Golf emerged; Rory was the main guy pushing back.
The 2023 season was the first split-season between the TOUR and LIV Golf, and Rory was out to prove that his side would win. When Brooks Koepka won the PGA Championship that year after going to LIV, it gave them some momentum, that this 54-hole, weekend-style golf league was just as legitimate as the PGA TOUR. Rory headed into the US Open at LACC that week, and it just felt like it was his time. I saw Rory on Monday of that week from about 15 feet, and it seemed like it was his time. Rory would go on to finish solo-second, coming up one shot short. And then in 2024, it was Bryson DeChambeau vs. Rory at the US Open at Pinehurst. Rory had the lead late, and then lost it, with Bryson – a LIV player – winning by one stroke.
So now to 2025, it had been 11 years since Rory had won a major championship and 14 since he lost a four stroke lead on the second nine at Augusta. Rory had all of the hype going into the Masters. He had won at Pebble Beach and then for a second time at The Players Championship – the PGA TOUR’s flagship tournament. It was Rory’s year. And then those hopes faded with two double bogies on Thursday, where Rory limped to an even par round. He could have bowed out and accepted it once again, was not his time at Augusta. But he followed that round up with back-to-back 66s to lead a major after 54 holes for the first time since 2014.
Rory led Bryson by two. After a rocky start, Rory had a three shot lead heading to the fifth tee. His lead was four stepping to the second nine. And then by the time he walked off the 14th green, he was down by one. As I paced my apartment, screaming at my phone, getting pissed off at any anti-Rory tweet or text I saw, I thought to myself: was it again, not his time? But in classic Rory fashion, he made birdies at 15 and 17 to take a one stroke lead to 18, where he made bogey. Again, I was crushed.
And then, against his European Ryder Cup pal Justin Rose in the playoff, Rory hit two of the greatest under-pressure shots you’ll ever see. A 314 yard drive, followed up by a 126 yard wedge shot to four feet. And after all of these years, it was his time. Just as Rory dropped to his knees in tears, so was I. I sat on the couch with my fists in the air and tears running down my cheek, because it was also a weight being lifted off of all of his fans’ shoulders. Rory had finally completed the career grand slam, exorcised his Augusta demons, and fulfilled his dream of becoming a Masters champion. And to those who say he didn’t earn it, he most certainly did. Today was a classic ‘Rory Rollercoaster,’ but he sure did earn it. 11 years, 2 Players Championships, 3 FedEx Cups, putting the PGA TOUR on his shoulders, and countless heartbreaks later, his long journey was over. Rory McIlroy is the 2025 Masters champion, and it will put a smile on my face for as long as I live!