Rory McIlroy misses short par putt to bogey 18th hole, sends Masters into sudden-death playoff
Chasing the career grand slam, Rory McIlroy seemingly had The Masters all wrapped up heading to the 18th hole. With Justin Rose in at -11 under for the tournament, all McIlroy had to do was par Hole No. 18.
Instead, he flew a 130-yard approach shot into the greenside bunker. His chip out was quite good, leaving him a putt from just a few feet.
Agonizingly, Rory McIlroy waited while Bryson DeChambeau finished out his round. The nerves were evident on his face, as McIlroy gripped his putter ready to spring into duty.
He got over the shot and quickly went into his motion. But the putt inched ever so slightly to the left of the cup, giving him a bogey and sending The Masters to a sudden-death playoff with Rose. You can check out the missed putt below.
The good news for McIlroy? He was able to regain his composure very quickly after the collapse on 18. He hit a beautiful drive off the tee on the first playoff hole (Hole No. 18), giving himself ample opportunity to fly one toward the green.
And oh did he ever. He knocked one off the backstop of the green, rolling it to within about two feet of the hole. After Rose missed a significantly longer putt, McIlroy simply had to bump it in for the win.
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He did just that, capturing the 2025 Masters and completing his career grand slam. What a ride it was.
Skip Bayless prematurely dubs Rory McIlroy winner
Skip Bayless was a little premature in declaring a winner of the 2025 Masters on Sunday afternoon. The sports commentator took to Twitter during the event to proclaim Rory McIlroy as the winner.
At the time, McIlroy had a four-shot lead on the rest of the competition and was in good standing to do so. However, the golfer promptly lost his lead and ended up tied atop the leaderboard at -11 with Justin Rose.
“CONGRATULATIONS, RORY, FOR WINNING THE 2025 MASTERS AND COMPLETING THE CAREER GRAND SLAM,” Bayless wrote. “EXTRAORDINARY PERFORMANCE. WAS I EVER WRONG ABOUT TODAY AND BRYSON DESHAMBOGEY.”
On3’s Chandler Vessels also contributed to this report.