Rory McIlroy Wrote His Perfect Hollywood Ending at The 2025 Masters

Eleven years is a long time. And 14 years is even longer (yeah I know, I'm good at math), but after 14 years since the “what if” that was the 2011 Masters, and 11 years since his last major victory at the 2014 PGA Championship, Rory McIlroy from Hollywood Northern Ireland has finally written the conclusion to his own Hollywood story by completing the career Grand Slam at the 2025 Masters.

From the start, the day required pacing. If you own a couch, there was a good chance you seldom used it after 2:30 PM Eastern time, when Rory MciIroy and Bryson DeChambeau teed off for the final round, and Rory came out with a double-bogey 6 on the first. From then, it felt that no matter the outcome, it wouldn't be easy for anyone, especially Rory, with a decade's worth of expectations resting on his shoulders. When you mix in the recent disappointment from the 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst, where (although not paired in the same group) Bryson was able to outplay Rory in the final round, this one felt different. It was evident that, with every up and down, controlling emotions became even harder (both at home and on site).

Now, for a step back. As mentioned, 11 years is a long time for anyone. People come and go, maybe some older family members succumb to age, and depending on your stage in life, you are able to welcome new members into your own family. It’s all part of the never-ending cycle of life we all live. It’s this longevity and life cycle that also makes watching professional golf fantastic because we get to see athletes come into the game, succeed, and if everything goes right, find their place in the pantheon of the sport while also experiencing life in the world they live.

Unlike so many other sports with shorter career cycles, we are gifted the opportunity to watch young men and women enter the game with such promise and experience the full arc from start to finish over substantial periods of time. It also means we get to watch the greats of the game tackle some of the finest cathedrals of golf—from St. Andrews to Augusta National—over and over again, baring witness as the very best rise to the top to cement their place in the game's history.

Rory McIlroy reacts during the final round of the 150th Open Championship at St. Andrews in 2022 where he lost to Cameron Smith by two shots. (Photo by Oisin Keniry/R&A/R&A via Getty Images)

When it comes to the greats, recent events have lead to some amazing results. Although St. Andrews was a devastating loss for Rory McIlroy in 2022, it was a triumph for Lydia Ko in 2024. After years of close calls and career highs and lows, she sealed her place among the very best by winning the Women's British Open just weeks after winning Olympic Gold to earn her place in the LPGA Hall of Fame. Similar to Rory, Lydia is a player golf fans have had a front-row seat to the rollercoaster that is a career in golf since she was a teenager. Lydia rose so fast, she was the youngest person to turn pro on the LPGA at just 16. Rory was 18.

As for Rory McIlroy, Augusta National and the Masters has been his white whale. He's had seven top-10 finishes since competing in his first Masters in 2009 and has made the cut at AGNC all but three times in his 17 appearances at the major.

In a three year span (2011-2014) Rory gathered a U.S. Open win (2011), two PGA Championships (2012, 2014) and the Claret Jug at the Open Championship (2014). The Masters was the one that was always on the horizon but impossible to catch, and no matter how many heart wrenching chances he had, it was always beyond his reach—that was until this weekend.

Although 73 probably wasn’t the number he had in mind entering the final round, it was more than enough to get into a playoff with Justin Rose. With only one man to beat it took one lashing driver swing, a controlled wedge, and a short putt to put away the victory and defeat his opponent and a decade worth demons. It was at the point the emotions of came flowing out and but not the ones you might initially expect.

"It was all relief," McIlroy said after his win. "There wasn’t much joy in that reaction. It was all relief. And then, you know, the joy came pretty soon after that. But that was — I’ve been coming here 17 years, and it was a decade-plus of emotion that came out of me there."

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And in so few words, Rory expressed so much. The burden of time and expectation can be a heavy one to carry, and through thick and thin, big wins, big loses, and staggering disappointment he continued to step up, throw his hat into the ring and give it his everything year after year. It has been 25 years since Tiger completed his career grand slam in 2000, when Rory was just a child dreaming of greatness, and after 11 year of trying, filled with new relationships, family additions, and incredibly close calls—he closed his acceptance speech with something directed at his own daughter, albeit a message we can all live by,

"Never give up on your dreams, never ever give up on your dreams. Keep coming back. Keep working hard, and if you put your mind to it, you can do anything." McIlroy said.

Of all the events and shots of the 2025 Masters it’s that message of persistence that that marked Rory's career that I will remember the most, because 11 years is a long time to wait, but for Rory it was worth every try to get to the top of the mountain.