Evening all, strap yourself in for a night of fraught and scary clarity.
This will either be the best day of Rory McIlroy’s career, or the worst.
There’s no in-between here.
McIlroy takes a two-shot lead into the final round of the 2025 Masters tonight, seeking his first major title in 11 years but, crucially, the only of the four majors missing from his CV.
Win tonight, and McIlroy will complete the modern career grand slam, adding his name to a list that reads only Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods. At stake tonight, then, is the greatest achievement in the history of Irish sport and of European golf.
There is clarity too about the challengers, because there appears to be only one.
McIlroy is teeing off in the final group with Bryson DeChambeau, who stomped all over McIlroy’s major dreams at the US Open last June, holding his nerve with an audacious bunker shot on the 72nd hole to beat McIlroy by a single shot.
DeChambeau last night described this as a “match”, so he’s clear that this is a two-man shootout.
But if it’s Bryson versus Rory, then it’s Rory versus Bryson and Rory.
McIlroy last took a Sunday lead into the Masters in 2011, when he started with a four-shot lead but blew it with a brutal and agonising round of 80, finishing 15th in an event he led when he started the second half of his round.
That was McIlroy’s day of original sin at the Masters, and it’s been a site of misery and torture for him since. Tonight he can exorcise the demons of all past Masters along with last year’s US Open to boot. If he doesn’t, another set of malign ghosts will come crowding in.
This is Gavin Cooney on duty tonight, right through to the end of play. Get in touch with me by emailing gavincooney@the42.ie.
Rory and Bryson tee off at 7.30pm, and we’ll be going shot-by-shot on a night that promises to be one of the greatest in Masters history.
We’ll have all of the other important updates from around Augusta National: Shane Lowry tees off at 7pm, as he tries to improbably vault himself into contention – he starts in a tie for sixth, seven shots off McIlroy.
Let’s go!
Leaderboard
A reminder of the leaderboard at the start of play:
1. Rory McIlroy (-12)
2. Bryson DeChambeau (-10)
3. Corey Conners (-8)
4. Patrick Reed (-6)
T4. Ludvig Aberg (-6)
T6. Jason Day (-5)
T6. Scottie Scheffler (-5)
T6. Justin Rose (-5)
T6. Shane Lowry (-5)
Tale of the Tape
Thanks to the excellent Ron Klos on X for this statistical tale of the tape between Rory and Bryson.
As these Strokes Gained (SG) stats show, McIlroy has been playing much better golf than DeChambeau this week, especially under the crucial approach play metric.
DeChambeau, though, is an extraordinary competitor, and scrambled his way into contention yesterday, holing monster putts on the first and final holes while relying on a powerful driver and a stunning short game to keep himself in the mix in between.
So will Bryson’s messy play finally catch up with him today?
Or if he gets his irons and approach play under control, can he be beaten?
‘You have to be willing to have your heart broken’
Rory McIlroy says crucial to getting in contention at these major championships in the last few years has been a vow to himself to risk the greatest possible disappointments in pursuit of the greatest triumphs.
And he has suffered plenty in recent years: the 2022 Open Championship, the 2023 US Open, and, of course, the 2024 US Open against DeChambeau.
He lays it all on the line again tonight.
Shane Lowry is out on the course, and has opened with a par on the par-four first. He is playing with the defending champion Scottie Scheffler, who has also opened with a par.
Both remain seven shots behind McIlroy.
Of the earlier starters, Hideki Mastsuyama has been the man to catch fire, carding a six-under 66, his only bogey coming on his final hole. One hell of a bounceback from yesterday’s 79 from the 2021 champion.
Collin Morikawa has started fast, birdieing two of his first three holes to jump to five-under, level with Lowry and Scheffler.
Sky Sports are currently not actually showing any golf, preferring instead to have Butch Harmon and the green jacketed-Nick Faldo chatting over footage of Rory and Bryson on the range. Rory is first to leave, bouncing off as Bryson hangs around, hammering balls in front of him.
If you’re looking for any omens on McIlroy’s part: this is the first time he has held the solo lead going into the final round of a major championship since the 2014 PGA Championship – also the last time he won one of the big prizes.
Four minutes from the leaders’ tee-off.
Ahead of them, Ludvig Aberg has birdied the first to fourth place on minus-seven.
McIlroy (-12)
DeChambeau (-10)
Conners (-8)
Aberg (-7)
Reed (-6)
Rose (-6)
McIlroy made the walk to the first tee well in advance of DeChambeau, who stopped to sign autographs stepping off the driving range. He strides to the tee with a beaming smile, hands outstretched to take every bit of acclaim on his way. He finds Rory at the tee, chatting with caddie Harry Diamond.
Diamond, by the way, was on the other side of the rope as a patron the last time McIlroy was in this position in 2011.
We are off.
McIlroy takes driver off the first tee and tries to carry the right-sided bunker, but there’s an abrupt “oooh” as he lands in the sand. An aggressive play that didn’t pay off.
DeChambeau sticks with his week-long strategy and takes three-wood, but pulls it left into the trees.
McIlroy (-12)
DeChambeau (-10)
Conners (-8)
Aberg (-7)
Reed (-6)
Rose (-6)
Ahead 0f McIlroy, Shane Lowry has birdied number two to climb up a spot in the leaderboard.
McIlroy (-12)
DeChambeau (-10)
Conners (-8)
Aberg (-7)
Reed (-6)
Rose (-6)
Lowry (-6)
Bryson finds his ball on the pinestraw, 181 yards from the pin. He knocks the ball out and sees it chase up to the edge of the green.
Rory has an awkward stance in the left of the fairway bunker, with the ball way below his feet, so he lays up to the fairway and now has work to do to get up and down for his par.
McIlroy (-12)
DeChambeau (-10)
Conners (-8)
Aberg (-7)
Reed (-6)
Rose (-6)
Lowry (-6)
Ooof. McIlroy’s approach attacks the pin, but it bounces past and rolls to the back fringe of the green and he now has a long and testy putt down the hill for par.
DeChambeau chips delicately up to the flag, and he has six feet for par, but up the hill.
Nervy start for McIlroy.
Elsewhere, cracking start by Justin Rose: makes birdie at one and three to lift himself to third. Corey Conners bogeyed the first to fall back to minus-seven.
McIlroy (-12)
DeChambeau (-10)
Conners (-7)
Aberg (-7)
Rose (-7)
Reed (-6)
Lowry (-6)
A nightmare start
McIlroy taking his time over a really difficult putt for par…and it’s a very poor effort. Knocks it well left of the hole and has left himself almost five feet just to make bogey.
Oh my word, McIlroy knocks that putt to the right and he has opened with double-bogey.
Bryson knocks in for par and the lead is gone by the end of the first hole.
McIlroy (-10)
DeChambeau (-10)
Conners (-7)
Aberg (-7)
Rose (-7)
Lowry (-6)
Hole No. 2
Nightmare start. Rory’s lead is gone as he tees off on the par-5 second.
Bryson smacks his drive down the fairway: he is in position A.
Rory tries to carry the fairway bunker and again he is a yard short and he has landed in the sand. Now he’s battling just to stay in a share of the lead.
Gobsmacking stuff.
Rory’s shot out of the bunker is solid: onto the left side of the fairway, with a good angle into the right-sided pin to claw back one of his dropped shots.
Bryson has 222 yards into the green, and he whips a seven-iron that is on the green well, well left of the pin. It’s another sloppy iron from Bryson.
Elsewhere, those ahead are struggling to make the most of McIlroy’s disastrous start. Corey Conners has opened bogey-par, while Justin Rose has bogeyed four to drop back to minus-6.
Aberg has seen a long birdie putt on three slide just past the hole.
And a bogey for Shane Lowry on three: back to minus-5.
McIlroy (-10)
DeChambeau (-10)
Conners (-7)
Aberg (-7)
Rose (-6)
Lowry (-5)
Oh man, McIlroy’s chip to the green from 90 yards is really poor: he leaves himself his birdie putt so far from the hole that is likely now a two-putt to escape with a par.
The putt is down the hill: it’s another horrible task.
He reacts with a slump of his shoulders. McIlroy’s body language is not good.
Bryson taps his eagle putt down: its a feather touch that crawls to the hole, but rests about 15 feet from the hole. He has work to do for birdie.
That has given Rory an idea of how speedy this putt is down the green.
He paces it well: he sees it slither past the hole but stop three feet by, and he knocks in for par. Solid two-putt to stay at -10.
Bryson now stands over his birdie putt….and drains it!
Bryson DeChambeau leads by one
DeChambeau (-11)
McIlroy (-10)
Conners (-7)
Aberg (-7)
Rose (-6)
…
Lowry (-5)
Hole No. 3
Wow.
A disastrous start for McIlroy. He started the day two clear and now he’s one behind.
His opening two drives were aggressive and maybe a yard from clearing the bunker on each fairway. Fine margins, but a massive swing.
Bryson takes a driving iron and leaves his tee shot down the left side of the fairway.
Rory, by contrast, takes driver….and he smacks it down the fairway, very close to the green. He’s a little unlucky to see the ball roll off to the left, which will make his wedge on a little more difficult, but that’s a nerve-steadier off the tee.
Bryson from 111 yards and has just about made it safely onto the green, the ball wasn’t far from spinning back off the green. Roughly 20 feet for birdie.
Rory’s monster drive means he is 24 yards from the hole, and it’s a beauty! He chips the ball and bumps it off the edge of the slope, and then sees the ball arc around and into birdie territory. That’s his best shot of the day so far, and a return to form around the green after the miscue on 2.
Bryson is first to putt, it’s further than the 20 feet I initially gave him credit for, and it’s downhill and speedy as hell.
He his aggressive, but the ball breaks too far left and now he has a tester back up the hill for par.
Rory now has a look at birdie to go back into a share for the lead. It’s a massive left-to-right breaker….AND HE MAKES IT!
He sends it into the hole with a firstpump for good measure. Just what he needed!
Bryson is again taking a long time over his putt, he read it once and then went back to read it again.
He finally takes it…and it slides left of the hole!
Another lurching swing in this tournament, on only the third hole.
Welcome to the Rory McIlroy Experience.
McIlroy retakes the solo lead
McIlroy (-11)
DeChambeau (-10)
Conners (-7)
Aberg (-7)
Hoooo boy what a start.
Elsewhere, Shane Lowry’s race is sadly run. He has made double bogey on the par-four fifth, and he is back to three-under and a tie for 15th.
Hole No. 4
Rory! He takes a four-iron off the tee on the par-three four and he sticks it to within 10 feet.
Bryson, meanwhile, misses well left and the ball rolls off the green.
McIlroy instantly looks a man transformed. He has birdie look now, and DeChambeau is under massive pressure to get up and down for par. The damage on the first hole may about to be erased!
That was a stunning iron from McIlroy off the tee on four. He has steadied the ship.
The big difference between these players this week has been their approach play: Rory has been dialled in and Bryson has been spraying it all over the shop. It may make all the difference on this fourth hole.
Elsewhere: Aberg is continuing to miss opportunities to enter the party, and is stuck at seven-under in third place.
Corey Conners has dropped back to six-under, where he is joined by Jason Day and Justin Rose, who makes birdie on seven after a terrific approach.
Good effort from Bryson to get himself within range to save par, he putts it way left of the green but it’s a good read, and the ball arcs around to around 15 feet from the hole.
It’s another tricky putt down the hill, though, and he misses it!
That means back to back bogeys for Bryson, and McIlroy has his two-shot lead back before he even addresses his putt.
But he isn’t standing still! Rory drains his putt, and he has gone birdie-birdie!
He is back in command!
McIlroy extends his lead to three shots through four holes
Hole No.5
“Oh no” shouts McIlroy as he sees his drive on the par-four fifth leak way right. It’s way right into the trees but the lie in the pine straw looks okay. He may have to chip out onto the fairway, which leave him battling to save par on one of the most brutal greens on the course.
Bryson reacts by striping his drive down the left side of the fairway: perfect response.
We’re only four-and-a-bit holes in but already this is exhausting.
McIlroy (-11)
DeChambeau (-10)
Aberg (-7)
Rose (-6)
Day (-6)
Conners (-6)
So to sum up after four completed holes: McIlroy went from two shots up to tied for the lead to one shot back to one shot ahead to three shots ahead.
Rory is first to move. He has got a break: he is 182 yards from the pin in the pinestraw, but he has a gap through the trees.
And what a shot it is: he smacks a nine-iron over the green but has left it right on the back fringe, and he will take a wedge to get himself up and down.
Bryson, meanwhile, finally finds a good iron, and he has a look at birdie to trim the lead.
McIlroy leads by three through five holes
Rory pitches to the flag but it doesn’t quite get the grab he wanted, so he has a little bit of work to do for his par.
Bryson’s birdie putt is an absolute shocker. Maybe a misread: he has put way too much pace on it and his return putt looks as long as the initial effort.
Rory, meanwhile, steadily knocks in a superb putt to save par. He has put Bryson under mega pressure now.
Bryson, though, makes his par to stay in touch.
The lurking classes: Aberg has made birdie to move to -8, while Scottie Scheffler – remember him? – has two birdies in three holes to move to -6. This has been matchplay so far, but Aberg isn’t far from chivvying himself into contention.
McIlroy (-12)
DeChambeau (-9)
Aberg (-8)
Scheffler (-6)
Rose (-6)
Day (-6)
Conners (-6)
Hole No. 6 (Par 3)
Now onto the par-three sixth, which is an elevated tee with the pin on a shelf to the back right, measuring 183 yards.
McIlroy takes 8-iron: it’s to the left of the pin, takes a bounce on a firm green but clings onto the slope without running down it.
DeChambeau goes flag-hunting: the ball takes a big bounce and rolls away, but it stays on the green and on the top shelf, so he has an outside look at birdie.
McIlroy will take a par all day long here.
Elsewhere, Aberg has just seen a birdie putt on seven lip out. That would have put him tied with DeChambeau.
McIlroy retains three-shot lead through six holes
Rory is first to go. He is using his putter to putt through the fringe and onto the green. He has been measuring these perfectly all week, and he does so again today. He marks his ball but it’s a straightforward tap-in for par.
Bryson is putting along McIlroy’s line but he didn’t get the pace right: it curls away to the right of the hole.
Rory taps in and it’s a par each.
Elsewhere, a roar around Augusta: three birdies in four for Scheffler. He is seven-under through eight holes.
McIlroy (-12)
DeChambeau (-9)
Aberg (-8)
Rose (-7)
Conners (-7)
Scheffler (-7)
Day (-6)
Did you think it was going to be straightforward?
Hole No. 7 (Par 4)
McIlroy sticks with a fairway metal off the seventh tee, but he has pulled it left into the trees. He is already in a battle to save par now.
Bryson reacts with the conservative, smart play: he clubs down to a driving iron and finds the fairway. He has a chance to put pressure on McIlroy now.
Bryson has 166 yards from the fairway into the seventh green and, oh my word, he has missed the green and left it short. What a mistake, and his wobbly iron play has bit him again.
Rory is in the second cut but he is going to attack the green with a wedge. It’s a ferocious whip and OH! MY! WORD! RORY MCILROY WHAT A SHOT!
He launched the ball through a gap in the trees and he’s got about 10 feet for birdie. He looks at Harry Diamond and breaks out in laughter. Holy moly.
After the first shot Bryson had hope of cutting into the lead. Now Bryson is battling not to fall further behind!
McIlroy retains his three-shot lead through seven holes
Bryson comes out of the bunker- from a dodgy lie up the face – and it’s a stunning effort, lofts it in front of him and watches the ball arc along the green and it’s a comfy par putt ahead. Man, his scrambling this week has been next-level.
Rory has a difficult putt down the hill and he’s a little too tentative, and leaves it just short. The second shot deserved a birdie, but that’s a super four for McIlroy.
Bryson gets down for par too, that’s a sensational up and down.
Aberg, meanwhile, has just missed another birdie putt. He’s been a few feet of putts from putting himself up with McIlroy.
McIlroy (-12)
DeChambeau (-9)
Aberg (-8)
Rose (-7)
Conners (-7)
Scheffler (-7)
Rory body language update:
Hole No. 8 (Par 5)
Rory naturally takes driver on the par-five eighth and he repeats the sin of the opening two holes: he tries to carry a fairway bunker and instead he is a tad too short and so goes into the sand. Did he need as aggressive a play with a three-shot lead?
Bryson, meanwhile, takes driver…and follows Rory into the same bunker!
Shane Lowry, meanwhile, has regrettably been dropped from the TV coverage.
He made birdie on the par-five eighth but gave it back with a bogey on nine.
He makes the turn at two-under, in a tie for 19th.
McIlroy retains three-shot lead through eight holes
Rory’s lay-up out of the bunker is clean, and he has neatly found the left side of the fairway.
Bryson’s lay-up is about 20 yards in front of McIlroy’s almost directly in front of him.
Rory is then first to play from the fairway, and he finds the green. Too far for a birdie look, probably, but he should make the two putt.
Bryson’s distance control issues rear their head again: he flies over the pin and he’s well out of birdie range at the back of the green.
He is first to putt, and he lags it forward to try and escape with par. He reacts by planting his hands on his hips and exhaling, but then makes his tester five-footer for par.
McIlroy isn’t taking risks, he lags it and makes two putt for par. It’s a missed chance to pull a little further from the field, but not a bad result from finding himself in the fairway bunker.
Aberg, meanwhile, misses another birdie putt to put pressure on by climbing into a tie for second. Corey Conners has picked up a shot to clamber back level with Aberg.
Huge roars down Amen Corner, as Rose rolls in a long birdie putt on the treacherous 11th.
Scheffler is a shot further back, and has seen a long birdie putt on 10 come up agonisingly shy.
One wonders if someone can make a bolt from the pack. . .
Lowry, meanwhile, made bogey on the same hole, so he drops back to one-under for the tournament and is now four-over for what’s turning into a wretched Sunday.
DeChambeau (-9)
Aberg (-8)
Conners (-8)
Rose (-8)
Reed (-7)
Scheffler (-7)
Day (-6)
Hole No. 9 (Par 4)
McIlroy takes driver and it’s a stunner, he finds only his second fairway of the day.
DeChambeau follows suit and finds position.
Look down the leaderboard and suddenly you’ll find a ghost from McIlroy’s past: the 2018 winner Patrick Reed, with whom McIlroy played the last time he was in the final group at the Masters, has made four-straight birdies to claw himself up to the group at eight-under. These guys are lurking in wait for any potential disaster down the stretch.
Aberg, meanwhile, has another look at birdie on 10. Among best McIloy’s best friends thus far today has been Aberg’s putter. Otherwise, Ludvig would be bang in this. He might be yet.
McIlroy (-12)
DeChambeau (-9)
Aberg (-8)
Conners (-8)
Rose (-8)
Reed (-8)
Scheffler (-7)
Day (-6)
McIlroy makes birdie to extend his lead to four shots
DeChambeau finally clicks into gear on the fairway, sticks his approach close to the flag.
McIlroy, however, responds with a well-controlled iron that goes over the pin but then spins back to a similar spot to DeChambeau’s.
McIlroy goes first…and he pours his putt into the middle of the hole to make birdie!
DeChambeau is next to go, but he leaves his putt left of the hole and McIlroy pushes further ahead!
That’s a mega birdie from McIlroy, because the lurkers down the leaderboard have started holing putts.
Justin Rose is tearing through Amen Corner: birdie on 11 and now birdie on 12.
Aberg has finally drained a birdie putt on 10, but Rory McIlroy will start the back nine on Sunday with a FOUR. SHOT. LEAD.
DeChambeau (-9)
Aberg (-9)
Rose (-9)
Conners (-8)
Reed (-8)
Hole No. 10 (Par 4)
Okay, DEEP BREATHS.
It was on the 10th tee in 2011 that McIlroy stood with a one-shot lead and proceeded to hook his tee shot miles left, make a triple-bogey, and begin the implosion.
He takes driver…and sends it FLYING through whatever ghosts were crowding around the teebox! He’s down on the fairway.
Bryson responds by ripping his tee shot down the fairway that catches the slopes and rolls further on.
McIlroy makes another birdie to stay four clear through 10 holes
Bryson is first to hit into the 10th green, and he breathes a sigh of relief as his iron goes a little left but clings onto the green.
McIlroy has 189 yards in. . . and holy hell. He lets his club fly out of his hands as soon as he hits it, but what does that matter? He has landed it around 12 feet from the pin and has a look at birdie!
Hey, maybe that 10th hole owed him something.
To Bryson’s putt: he overhits it and now he has a tricky putt to save par.
McIlroy has finally cashed in his long-owed favour from the golfing gods: he rolls in his birdie putt to go back-to-back! He has told the American TV reporter following him he thought he hit the ball off the club toe. Fair to say happy he’s wrong.
DeChambeau makes a ballsy par save but now he’s five back.
But McIlroy now has more than DeChambeau to worry about.
Justin Rose ahead is on the hunt: he attacks the par-five 13th and is on in two. He has a long, long eagle putt and oh my word he has left it inches from the hole. Rose reacts by lying flat on the green. He’ll knock that in for a third-straight birdie, but HOW did that not drop?
He moves into solo second, ahead of DeChambeau.
Aberg, meanwhile, makes a huge par save on the 11th: he went too far right off the tee and just laid up on to the fairway, but escapes with a four on the hole which ended his challenge last year.
McIlroy (-14)
Rose (-10)
DeChambeau (-9)
Aberg (-9)
Conners (-8)
Reed (-8)
Hole No. 11 (Par 4)
McIlroy must now steer his dreams through Amen Corner.
His drive leaks right on 11 and the ball rolls out and possibly behind a tree, he may have some difficulty from there.
DeChambeau is marching after his drive down the right side of the fairway, giving him an angle into the left-sided pin that’s tucked right up against the water. That’s if he’s feeling brave..or reckless. But then again, he’s now five shots back so may feel it’s time to push the envelope.
Ahead of McIlroy, second-placed Rose is in bother off the 14th tee, gone left into the trees. Rose is behind a tree so he is trying to snap the ball around the tree, but can’t stick the ball on the green. He walks away with his head in his hands.
Aberg, tied with DeChambeau, has gone long and left on the par-three 12th. The ball has popped back out of the azaleas, as it did for McIlroy on Friday, but he has a lot of work to do for par.
McIlroy (-14)
Rose (-10)
DeChambeau (-9)
Aberg (-9)
Conners (-8)
Reed (-8)
Drama by the water!
My God, McIlroy dices with death.
He draws his shot down the fairway but it kicks against a mound and it rolls left and is heading for the water before it miraculously short of rolling in. Freddie Couples style. What a let off.
DeChambeau does indeed launch himself for the flag, but he has overcooked it and he’s GONE INTO THE WATER!
DeChambeau could be cooked. McIlroy might feel like he can walk over that water.
McIlroy makes bogey but keeps four shot lead through 11 holes
McIlroy snubs his gift: it’s a tentative chip from the edge of the green, and his putt is too long. He makes bogey for the first time since the opening hole.
But he has incredibly taken the least amount of damage in the last few minutes.
Bryson took a drop and set up a bogey opportunity, but it’s another misread to the left and he makes a double-bogey. He is back to seven-under, now seven off the lead.
Rory’s news gets better: Rose has made bogey having gone out of position on 14.
He’s dropped a shot but kept his four-shot buffer. To the 12th. How’s your nerve Rory?
McIlroy (-13)
Rose (-9)
Aberg (-8)
Reed (-8)
Scheffler (-7)
Day (-7)
Conners (-7)
DeChambeau (-7)
Hole No. 12 (Par-3)
McIlroy has ridden his luck to this point and he is not prepare to start bargaining with the 12th hole over the water.
He is safely onto the green!
Bryson has to chase but he is all over the shop now, he has overcooked his effort and bounced into the bunker.
Aberg is on the par-five 13th but couldn’t convert a long, swinging putt for eagle, so McIlroy can afford another breath of relief. He does make birdie to join Rose at nine-under. He feels like Rory’s major threat now.
Rose now has to gamble it all and is going to attack the green over the water on the par-five 15th. He hits a huge draw but he hasn’t got what he needed: he has landed in the bunker on the right of the green, though he has a lot of green with which to work with the pin to the left of the green. But at four back, he may have felt he needed eagle.
Rory making it safely onto the 12th green closes the door that little bit further.
McIlroy (-13)
Rose (-9)
Aberg (-9)
Reed (-8)
Scheffler (-7)
DeChambeau (-7)
McIlroy makes par at the treacherous 12th to stay four shots clear
McIlroy doesn’t take any risks: lags forward and makes his two-putt for par.
DeChambeau has left the building. He can’t get up and down and he has bogeyed the 12th, he is now seven back from McIlroy.
Elsewhere, Scheffler has birdied 14 to get to eight-under, and he heads to the par-5 15th and he’s not quite dead yet.
Rose has played a terrific chip out of the bunker on 15th and he should make his birdie, at least. Rory still has work to do.
McIlroy (-13)
Aberg (-9)
Rose (-9)
Scheffler (-8)
Reed (-8)
Hole No. 13 (Par 5)
To the 13th tee, and McIlroy’s drive finds the fairway no problem. He takes an energy bar and looks serene as he bounces down the slope after his ball.
If he can make birdie here he can leave the chasers feeling they are going to run out of holes.
Justin Rose makes his birdie at 15, and he is three shots back.
Patrick Reed has blown up on the 13th green, misses birdie to go to T3 and four shots back, and ends up three-putting for birdie. Goodnight.
Shane Lowry, meanwhile, is now at six-over for the day and has slid down to T32.
McIlroy takes the safe play: he lays up in front of the creek rather than attacking the green.
Second-placed Justin Rose is now on the par-three 16th, and has stitched it to the flag! Terrific shot, and he has a super look at a birdie putt that would narrow the lead to two.
Oh my word, Aberg is so unlucky: his chip in front of the 14th green scuttles across the green and lips out!
Scheffler attacks the 15th green but has gone well right, hit the patrons and he is now in a bowl to the back right of the green, close to where McIlroy chipped into the water on Thursday.
McIlroy (-13)
Rose (-10)
Aberg (-9)
Scheffler (-8)
OH MY GOD.
McIlroy makes an enormous error on 13.
Having laid up to the front of the creek, he makes a total mess of his approach and it bounces INTO THE CREEK.
Has McIlroy just…thrown it away?
McIlroy makes double-bogey on 13 and drops back into a share for the lead
That’s a hideous, mind-melting error by McIlroy and he’s suddenly left the whole tournament open again. Just incomprehensible.
He hit that wedge over the water to the one place he shouldn’t. Why lay up and then attack the pin!?
He has gone to the drop zone and he has given himself a testy 10-foot putt for bogey.
The putt has broken right and McIlroy has managed to make a double-bogey on the par-five 13th.
He’s thrown the whole thing open again.
All of a sudden Justin Rose’s putt on 16 is to TIE THE LEAD.
He has made it!
Unbelievable!
McIlroy is now battling another Masters Sunday meltdown.
He had a four-shot lead on the par-five 13th tee, made double bogey as Justin Rose got hot and suddenly he is in a tie for the lead.
A crazy, crazy error.
McIlroy (-11)
Rose (-11)
Aberg (-9)
Scheffler (-8)
Hole No.14
Right, Justin Rose is driving down the 17th tied for the Masters lead. It’s gone a little left and he is in the second cut.
Aberg is on the par-five 15th fairway and is two back, a chance to put on pressure. His shot in goes well right, but it’s stayed above the bunker. Good chance of getting down for birdie.
Rory’s response is a three-wood on the 14th tee and he has gone right and it has rolled into the pinestraw.
He has 165 to the green, and has to play a whopper cut.
It is heading for the green but kicks into its mound and rolls just off the putting surface. This is a major up and down ahead. Can he stay at 11-under before going to the par-5 15th?
McIlroy (-11)
Rose (-11)
Aberg (-9)
Scheffler (-8)
McIlroy bogeys the 14th hole and is in a three-way tie for the lead
What on earth has happened to Rory McIlroy.
McIlroy pitches it up to the flag on 14th, it skips by and the ball rolls back and he has a chance at saving par, but a testy putt.
This is one of the biggest putts of his life…and oh my word the ball has stopped at the edge of the hole and will. not. drop. Unbelievable.
He makes bogey and falls out of the lead.
Justin Rose is way out of position on 17 but makes a super pitch, and he now has a putt to save par and take the solo lead.
He is taking an age over it, reading and rereading.
But he misses it left!
Aberg quickly moves to the par-three 16th, he is off the back of the green. He goes for the hole but it drifts by. He made birdie on 15, though, so we have a three way tie for the lead!
McIlroy (-10)
Rose (-10)
Aberg (-10)
Hole No. 15 (Par 5)
McIlroy now has to try and score here. His drive finds the fairway but it’s leaked wide and that could hurt his chances of making the green.
McIlroy has still got a share for the lead but he’s leaking oil all over Augusta’s pristine fairways. This has been the most hectic, dumbfounding and claustrophobic hour’s of sport I can ever remember.
Rose goes to the 18th tee and he stripes it down the fairway.
McIlroy (-10)
Rose (-10)
Aberg (-10)
IT’S A MCILROY MIRACLE!
HO-LEE HELL.
McIlroy is way left on the fairway and so has to try a crazy hook into the green and it is PERFECT.
He has left it to about eight feet for eagle!
Astonishing!!
Rory McIlroy has followed one of the worst shots of his life when it mattered most with one of the best shots of his life when it mattered most.
Rory McIlroy is not meant to be understood -Rory McIlroy is meant to be experienced.
Here it is. IF he closes it out from here, one of the greatest shots in Masters history.
Poised to make eagle. Rory McIlroy goes for glory on No. 15. #themasters pic.twitter.com/hAM0zxnkM7
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 13, 2025
McIlroy misses eagle putt but takes one-shot lead through 15 holes
Oh blimey. McIlroy’s eagle putt is poor and it slides to the left.
He re-takes the lead but that was a chance to give him a two-shot cushion. Because God knows what happens from here.
McIlroy (-11)
Aberg (-10)
Rose (-10)
Hole No. 16 (Par three)
McIlroy had a four-shot lead on the 13th tee.
He was in a share for the lead on the 14th tee.
He was one shot behind on the 15th tee.
He leads by one shot on the 16th tee.
Brains. Scrambled.
Rory takes on the par-three 16th and it’s a SUPERB shot. He’s to the right of the flag, but on the green and within birdie range and pin high.
McIlroy has tonight been provoking emotions in middle-aged men they didn’t know they had.
Man oh man, if he can make a two here. . .
McIlroy (-11)
Rose (-10)
Aberg (-10)
McIlroy tied for the lead through 16 holes
JUSTIN ROSE!!
Rose drains a monster putt on the 18th green to sign for a 10-birdie 66!
He has birdied six of the last nine holes, crazy finish, and he moves to -11 to tie the lead with McIlroy.
We go to 16…and McIlroy’s birdie putt drifts past.
He needs to find a birdie on the final two holes, neither of which traditionally yield a whole lot.
Aberg has left the chat: three-putt bogey on 17 to drop to -9.
McIlroy (-11)
Rose (-11)
Aberg (-9)
Hole No.17 (par 4)
Rory taking three-wood on 17. He made double bogey here on Thursday, this needs to be nailed.
It is: he finds the fairway.
Meanwhile amid the mayhem, Patrick Reed has managed to eagle the 17th to move to -9.
Super disappointing Sunday for Shane Lowry: he carded a horror 81, and has ended up in a tie for 42nd position.
McIlroy (-11)
Rose (-11)
Aberg (-9)
Reed (-8)
McIlroy needs to go par-par on 17 and 18 to make a playoff with Justin Rose.
Maybe he can find one more miracle shot to make birdie, so here’s his shot on 17. He has found the fairway, and has a seven-iron in his hand.
And…OH MY GOD RORY MCILROY
He has stuffed it to a few feet! He has a mega look at birdie to take the solo lead going into the final hole!
Rory McIlroy makes birdie to take one shot lead ahead of final hole of the Masters
Bryson makes bogey on 17, but he looks to have given McIlroy a read on his putt.
McIlroy takes read..addresses ball…takes another read…putting into his shadow…and INTO THE HOLE
McIlroy (-12)
Rose (-11)
Hole No.18 (Par 4)
Here we go folks.
Rory McIlroy must get home in four on the 72nd hole of the Masters to win the only major that has eluded him and become only the sixth man in history win the Grand Slam.
Ludvig Aberg has made a royal mess of 18, which is holding McIlroy up on the 18th tee.
Exactly what McIlroy needs: more time to think.
Aberg eventually gets down for a triple bogey on the last.
The last hurdle in front of Rory McIlroy’s dreams. . . coming right up.
Chants of RO-REE, RO-REE on the 18th tee, but McIlroy is back at the tee box. Patrick Reed and Corey Conners are only playing their approach shots to the green.
More lousy thinking time.
McIlroy has the driver out on 18. Wind at his back. Can he launch this through that forbiddingly narrow corridor and onto the fairway?
CAN. HE. EVER.
He marches after it as the ball comes to a halt on the fairway. It’s perfect.
One swing down.
McIlroy (-12)
Rosee (-11)
McIlroy is striding to his ball, sipping at water bit managing to keep his expression neutral. Goodness knows what’s going on inside his head.
Bryson will go first. He’s fallen back to seven-under and in fifth position and knocked it onto the green and gets outta the way.
Rory, here we go and, ohhhhh dear.
He bailed out to the right but he went too far right and he’s gone INTO THE RIGHTSIDE BUNKER.
Work to do to get up and down for the Masters and avoid a playoff.
You may remember on Sunday in 2022, McIlroy chipped in out of that bunker to sign for 64 and backdoor a second position finish to Scheffler.
Different dynamic this time.
He has lots of green to work with.
The chip is good but he has left himself about five feet for the Masters and golf immortality.
HERE. WE. GO.
Sweet Lord.
McIlroy bogeys the 72nd hole and now he goes to a play-off with Justin Rose for the Masters.
It’s a sudden-death playoff. First they will play the 18th hole, and if tied, then the 10th. If tied, they will then return to the 18th.
Ohhhhhhh man.
This will be the first playoff for the Masters since 2017, when Sergio Garcia beat…Justin Rose.
How on earth does McIlroy reset from this?
He mixed genius with gobsmacking mistakes over a rollercoaster day to sign for a one-over 73.
Justin Rose has all the momentum now: he birdied 10 of his 18 holes on his way to a 66.
Plus, there’s an imbalance at play here: Rose has to beat McIlroy to win.
McIlroy has to beat Justin Rose and Rory McIlroy.
Hole No. 73 – PLAY OFF
It’s a sudden death play off, and we are back on the 18th tee. Feels especially cruel to make McIlroy replay the very same hole.
McIlroy is already at the tee, driver in hand and hanging around for Rose, who has just landed, delivered by a member on a golf cart.
Rose to tee off first.
Rose takes driver. He sends a fade right down the right but it’s stayed on the fairway and not gone into the second cut.
Rory takes driver too and he has managed to send a rocket down the fairway! It’s a mirror of his drive on 18 a few minutes ago and, remarkably, McIlroy will have the same second shot in as he had in regulation!
Fair play to McIlroy for steadying himself to get that drive in position. But his problems get larger the closer to the hole he get.
Everything is on the line for him here.
Rose to play first down the right side of the fairway, he will be striking off an upslope.
Reminder the pin is to the front left portion of the green.
He takes an eight-iron, 157 yards from the hole…and it is TERRIFIC. He is past the hole and putting down the hill, and it’s about 15 feet for birdie.
That makes up Rory’s mind for him. He’s got to hunt this flag.
WHAT A SHOT RORY MCILROY!
He spins it over the back of the pin and it feeds back to the pin. He’s much closer to the flag than Rose! He has got another look at birdie!
McIllroy is about four feet from the hole, what an approach.
Pressure now on Rose to make this birdie putt, but he has been holing pretty much everything he’s looked at in the last hour or so.
Rose will feel he has to hole this…
Rose is about three times McIlroy’s distance from the hole. Rory has managed to shift the pressure elsewhere…at least for now.
Rose MISSES the birdie putt. It drifted right.
RORY MCILROY HAS ANOTHER PUTT FOR THE GRAND SLAM
HE HAS DONE IT
McIlroy drains the putt, sinks to his knees, and breaks into tears.
He hugs Harry Diamond tightly and he is completely overcome with emotion.
Extraordinary.
He won his previous major at Valhalla, but this is a better kind of heaven altogether.
He did it.
He actually did it.
That moment when you overcome years of heartbreak and near-misses to complete everything you’ve ever considered worth doing
Shane Lowry is out to meet McIlroy as he wanders, punchdrunk with emotion, to the clubhouse. Magic.
McIlroy is embraced by a line of people on his way from the green and eventually says,
“Okay, I gotta go get a green jacket.”
Look at these scenes on 18.
McIlroy is now sitting in Butler Cabin for the, er, unique award ceremony.
“It feels incredible,” says McIlroy. “This is my 17th time here, I started to winder if it would ever be my time. Coming here with the burden of the Grand Slam on my shoulders…I sort of wonder what we will all talk about going into next year’s Masters.
“I am so proud to be able to call myself a Masters champion.
“When I hit the wedge shot into the creek on 13, I felt I bounced back really well from that. I was really nervous going out, the double bogey [on the first] calmed my nerves in a funny way.
“I couldn’t be more proud of myself to be able to bounce back when I needed to.
“It was 14 years in the making, going out with a four shot lead in 2011. There was a lot of pent-up emption came out on the 18th green, a moment like that makes the years of close calls worth it.”
He finally breaks down in tears when he thanks his parents, who have been watching on from home. And you thought you had a stressful watch!
Let’s finish with the photo for the mantelpiece.
Thanks a lot for following folks, what a damn journey. And we’re not just talking about tonight.
Serious lack of Limerick about it. Shame. Long gone the days of Limericks clubs?
Don’t write off Limerick clubs just yet!!! Young Munsters and Garryowen sit 3rd and 4th in the AIL Div 1A table, with the Cookies the form team in the league since Corkery assumed the reins back in October.
I thought u mentioned Shane Long there, where’s me glasses.