At long last, Rory McIlroy is a major championship winner again.
McIlroy won the Masters on Sunday, defeating Justin Rose in a sudden-death playoff — the 11th such playoff at the Masters since 1975 and first since 2017, when Sergio Garcia defeated Rose.
It’s McIlroy’s first major victory since the 2014 PGA Championship at Valhalla. McIlroy becomes the sixth player to win the career Grand Slam and first since Tiger Woods completed the feat in 2000, according to ESPN Research.
The major win for McIlroy didn’t come without bumps in the road. He had four double bogeys in the tournament, including two on Sunday. Entering this year, no player had won the Masters after making four double bogeys or worse in the week.
Rose’s birdie on 18 momentarily tied him with McIlroy for the lead. McIlroy answered with a birdie on 17 to retake the lead, only to bogey the 18th hole to force the playoff with both tied at 11 under. McIlroy then won with a birdie on the first playoff hole.
Here’s how the sports world reacted to McIlroy’s victory.
Congrats!! @McIlroyRory
— Patrick Mahomes II (@PatrickMahomes) April 13, 2025
RORY!!!! pic.twitter.com/Re99ovmUlB
— DWade (@DwyaneWade) April 13, 2025
A long time coming. Congratulations, Rory. #themasters pic.twitter.com/f72nOxQbfw
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 13, 2025
Four majors made @McIlroyRory great. Completing a career Grand Slam, legendary. pic.twitter.com/inD1hyPkWr
— Nike (@Nike) April 13, 2025
RORY!!!
— Josh Hart (@joshhart) April 13, 2025
Get that man the green jacket 🏌️♂️
Rory McIlroy comes out on top in an epic showdown at @TheMasters! pic.twitter.com/g8p2BBXSpY
— MLB (@MLB) April 13, 2025
I lost 5lbs today watching golf. I can watch @TheMasters stress free for the rest of life…
— andre (@andre) April 13, 2025
What a day @TheMasters ⛳️
Congrats @McIlroyRory 🏆
— Matt Leinart (@MattLeinartQB) April 13, 2025
Source: espn.com