'That was 11 years of pent-up emotion' — Rory McIlroy savours his magical Masters moment

After a wild Augusta Sunday that will live forever, Rory McIlroy wins a first green jacket for Ireland and completes the career grand slam 

FITS SO GOOD: Scottie Scheffler puts the green Jacket on winner, Rory McIlroy at the Masters golf tournament, Sunday, April 13, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Forget 2011. Forget the 11-year major drought. Forget the four-shot lead he lost in a flash on the second nine Sunday. Forget to bogey he made fall into a playoff. Forget any and all of the heartbreak and cardiac arrests that Rory McIlroy has endured and inflicted in the quest for greatness.

As shaky as it was in a madcap Masters Sunday, McIlroy managed to slam the door on any and all negative narratives by completing the career grand slam with an emotional roller-coaster final round and a brilliant birdie in sudden death to defeat Justin Rose.