Rory McIlroy finally did it. After so many near-misses, gut-wrenching rounds and crushing close calls, he finally won his first Masters on Sunday by defeating Justin Rose in a playoff.
It not only gives him his first green jacket, as well as his first major championship since 2014, it also puts him into exclusive company by completing the career grand slam, joining only Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as the only golfers to accomplish it.
He didn’t make it easy on himself and filled the day with plenty of drama.
This was the complete Rory McIlroy experience
This was a roller coaster of a day for McIlroy and anybody that had any rooting interest in his performance. He opened the day with a two-stroke lead, then double-bogeyed the first hole, setting an ominous tone for his round. After bouncing back and opening up a four-stroke lead, he started to fall apart again on the back nine, lost the lead and double-bogeyed his fourth hole of the tournament.
He is the first player ever to double-bogey four holes and still come away with a Masters win.
He made some of the best shots you will ever see. And missed some of the worst shots you will ever see.
The most notable of those misses was on the 18th hole with a chance to win when he did this.
That sent him to a playoff with Rose, and it seemed like maybe the moment was just going to be too much.
Until it wasn’t.
Because for every shot he had like that, he also had moments of brilliance.
The shot(s) of a lifetime
One of those moments came on his approach shot on the 17th green.
At the moment, that looked like the shot of a lifetime for him. And it still might be one of them.
But he also did this on his approach shot in the playoff.
That shot set the stage for his win.
Bryson DeChambeau fell apart
The day began with everybody anticipating McIlroy and DeChambeau fighting it out for their first green jacket.
While McIlroy delivered, DeChambeau did not, with his worst round of the week. He shot a 75 on the day, after shooting in the 60s through the first three rounds, and dropped down into a tie for fifth overall for the tournament.
The best shot nobody will remember
Patrick Reed ended up with an extremely strong showing, finishing in third place at 9-under.
He also had one of the best shots of the round on Sunday that is going to get completely forgotten given the drama around McIlroy and Rose.
Another near-miss for Justin Rose
With McIlroy finally getting his green jacket, all eyes are going to now focus on Rose and his quest.
He bookended the weekend with sensational rounds on Thursday (65) and Sunday (66) only to still fall just short. His 75 on Saturday is what ultimately did him in.
Despite the lack of a Masters championship, he has still had consistently strong showings and finishes, with this being his third second-place finish. It is the second time he has lost in a playoff, having also done so at the 2017 Masters.