Mark SchlabachApr 13, 2025, 07:22 PM ET
CloseSenior college football writer Author of seven books on college football Graduate of the University of GeorgiaOpen Extended Reactions
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Rory McIlroy‘s long, painful wait for the career Grand Slam is finally over.
And the greatest achievement of his career was as nerve-racking and dramatic as the near misses that came before it.
The 35-year-old from Northern Ireland overcame a shaky start — and even more perilous finish — in the final round of the 89th Masters at Augusta National Golf Club on Sunday to defeat Justin Rose in the first hole of a sudden-death playoff to win a green jacket and become only the sixth golfer to complete the career Grand Slam.
McIlroy joins Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as the only golfers to capture the four major championships in the Masters era.
“This is my 17th time here, and I started to wonder if it would ever be my time,” McIlroy said. “I think the last 10 years coming here with the burden of the Grand Slam on my shoulders and trying to achieve that, yeah, I’m sort of