McIlroy completes career Grand Slam, wins first Masters in playoff

Rory McIlroy has achieved the career Grand Slam.

McIlroy made birdie on the first playoff hole at the Masters to defeat Justin Rose, after both finished at 11-under 277 for 72 holes at Augusta National Golf Club. It was a topsy-turvy afternoon at the Masters, but the Northern Irishman emerged from a crowded pack down the stretch to earn his first green jacket in dramatic fashion.

"This is my 17th time here, and I started to wonder if it would ever be my time," McIlroy said afterward. "I'm just absolutely honored and thrilled, and so proud to be able to call myself a Masters champion ... A moment like that makes all the years and all the close calls worth it."

Rose charged up the leaderboard with a final-round 66. McIlroy made bogey at the 72nd hole after pushing his approach shot into a greenside bunker, blasting to 5 feet and missing the par putt on the left side. McIlroy made amends with a wedge to 3 feet on the first playoff hole, converting the birdie after Rose missed a 15-foot birdie try on the right side.

RELATED: What is the playoff format at the 89th Masters?

McIlroy entered the final round at 12-under, two strokes clear of Bryson DeChambeau, and built a four-shot lead into the second nine Sunday but let the field back into the race with a double bogey at the par-5 13th hole.

McIlroy is now a five-time major winner, his previous major titles coming at the 2011 U.S. Open, 2012 PGA Championship, 2014 Open Championship and 2014 PGA Championship. This marked his 17th Masters appearance and his first time with the 54-hole lead at Augusta National since 2011, where he closed in 80 for a T15 finish. He exorcised his major-championship demons on Sunday, joining an esteemed list of players who have achieved the career Grand Slam in professional golf: Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods.

That list now includes Rory McIlroy.

Read below for updates (all times ET) from Sunday’s final round and playoff at the Masters, where McIlroy earned a place in golf immortality.

7:16 p.m.: McIlroy converts for birdie on the first playoff hole, falling to the ground in elation. He wins the Masters and completes the career Grand Slam.

7:15 p.m.: Rose's birdie putt slides past the hole on the right. McIlroy has a short-range birdie putt for the win.

7:12 p.m.: McIlroy plays a sublime wedge for his approach, the ball feeding off the slope and funneling back to leave a short-range birdie putt from roughly 3 feet. It's a big-time shot to match the occasion's significance. Rose, though, has a decent chance at birdie as well. This is far from over.

7:10 p.m.: Rose plays first from 157 yards, striping a short iron to roughly 15 feet past the hole. He'll have a similar-length birdie putt to the birdie he converted in regulation, but from past the hole rather than the side.

7:05 p.m.: The Masters playoff is underway, beginning at the par-4 18th hole. McIlroy and Rose each find the fairway off the tee. Rose will play first on the approach.

6:50 p.m.: McIlroy pushes his second shot on the par-4 18th into a greenside bunker, and he blasts to 5 feet, leaving a slippery par putt to achieve the career Grand Slam. Alas, his putt slides to the left of the hole. He takes his time before draining the bogey putt. McIlroy cards a final-round 73 for an 11-under total, matching Justin Rose. There will be a hole-by-hole playoff to decide the 89th Masters Tournament.

6:40 p.m.: Needing a par at the 72nd hole to win the Masters and achieve the career Grand Slam, McIlroy stripes his tee shot down the middle at the par-4 18th.

"What a time to deliver this," Jim Nantz exclaims on the CBS broadcast.

6:32 p.m.: McIlroy makes birdie at the par-4 17th, and he takes a one-shot lead to the 72nd hole of the Masters.

McIlroy finds the right side of the fairway off the tee at No. 17, and he hoists an 8-iron from 196 yards to 3 feet, setting up a crucial birdie to retake the lead from Justin Rose. With the ball in the air, McIlroy calls for it to "go!" with the desperate urgency of a man seeking the ultimate achievement in professional golf. McIlroy converts the short-range putt.

The birdie moves McIlroy to 12-under for the week, and to the verge of his first green jacket, one stroke clear of Justin Rose (in the clubhouse at 11-under).

With a par at the par-4 18th, McIlroy would achieve the career Grand Slam. A bogey would send him to a hole-by-hole playoff with Justin Rose.

6:17 p.m.: Justin Rose drains a 20-foot birdie at the par-4 18th for a final-round 66; he's in the clubhouse at 11-under total. Rose very much has a chance at his first Masters title.

McIlroy stripes a short iron to 9 feet at the par-3 16th, but his birdie putt narrowly slides by. The stakes are set: McIlroy needs to play his final two holes in 1-under to win the Masters and complete the career Grand Slam. If he plays the last two in even-par, he'll head to a hole-by-hole playoff with Rose.

6:10 p.m.: It's a bittersweet birdie for McIlroy at the par-5 15th, as his 6-footer for eagle slides just to the left of the hole. He taps in for birdie to regain the solo lead at 11-under, heading to the final three holes of the 89th Masters Tournament.

Justin Rose reaches the 18th green at 10-under, facing a mid-range birdie putt. Ludvig Åberg also stands 10-under as he plays the par-4 17th.

6:03 p.m.: McIlroy executes what might go down as an all-time golf shot, playing a massive hook around trees from 208 yards on his second shot into the par-5 15th, the ball landing on the front of the green and riding the slope to leave 6 feet for eagle. McIlroy faced ample tree trouble after pulling his tee shot to the left, but he met the moment. It came at a crucial time on the second nine, after he surrendered a four-shot lead with a 4-over stretch on holes 11-14, a jarring turn of events after he seemed to be on cruise control. As they say, though, the Masters doesn't start until the second nine Sunday.

5:55 p.m.: It's another bogey for McIlroy at the par-4 14th, a hole where he made double bogey in Thursday's opening round. McIlroy's tee shot finds the right tree line, his second shot finishes short-right of the green, and he plays a solid pitch to 8 feet beyond the hole but misses the par putt on the right edge.

For a brief moment, McIlroy falls into second place (after holding a four-shot lead just three holes prior). Moments later, Justin Rose makes bogey at the par-4 17th to fall back to 10-under, alongside McIlroy and Ludvig Åberg, who makes birdie at the par-5 15th to move into a share of the lead.

We're in for a riveting finish at the 89th Masters Tournament. Never a doubt.

5:40 p.m.: In a sudden turn of events, McIlroy makes double bogey at the par-5 13th to cast a shadow of doubt on the proceedings. He's now tied for the lead with Justin Rose, who stuffs his tee shot at the par-3 16th to 5 feet and converts for birdie.

It's McIlroy's fourth double bogey of the week, and it comes at an inopportune time. He lays up with his 239-yard second shot, then dumps his 86-yard third shot into Rae's Creek. He drops for his fifth shot, still behind the creek, and plays a wedge shot to 11 feet beyond the hole. His bogey putt wiggles to the right, and he taps in for a jarring double bogey.

Earlier on the second nine, McIlroy's odds to win were -2500. He now shares the lead with five holes to play.

McIlroy and Rose each stand 11-under, with Ludvig Åberg (through 14 holes) in solo third at 9-under.

5:23 p.m.: McIlroy makes a solid par at the par-3 12th hole, playing a smart short iron to the back of the green's left side and easily two-putting from 31 feet.

McIlroy (13-under) leads the 89th Masters by three strokes with six holes to play, as Justin Rose makes birdie at the par-5 15th to move into solo second at 10-under.

5:15 p.m.: McIlroy makes bogey at the par-4 11th, the first hole of the famed "Amen Corner," as his tee shot flirts with the right tree line and he misses the green short-left after playing a hard hook on his approach. McIlroy is fortunate, though, that his ball holds up a few inches short of rolling into the pond left of the green. He chips to 11 feet and two-putts for a far-from-devastating bogey.

McIlroy (13-under) maintains his four-shot lead, as Justin Rose makes bogey at the par-4 14th. McIlroy's bid for the career Grand Slam reaches the final seven holes at Augusta National.

4:55 p.m.: McIlroy cards a statement birdie at the par-4 10th, hoisting a 189-yard approach to 15 feet and draining the putt. It's a stark turn of events from the 2011 Masters, where he made triple bogey on No. 10 in the final round as part of a second-nine 43 to fade from contention. The Northern Irishman has a bounce in his step as he gets the second nine underway.

McIlroy moves to 14-under, four clear of Justin Rose, who now holds solo second at 10-under after three straight birdies at Nos. 11, 12 and 13.

4:40 p.m.: McIlroy plays the par-4 ninth to perfection, unleashing a booming drive down the middle, wedging to 7 feet and draining the birdie putt. DeChambeau can't convert a 7-foot birdie try and settles for par.

McIlroy leads by four with nine holes to play at the 89th Masters, eyeing the career Grand Slam.

4:30 p.m.: McIlroy and DeChambeau match pars at the par-5 eighth; each player finds the right fairway bunker off the tee and cannot attack the green in two shots. McIlroy's third shot from 135 yards settles 27 feet short of the hole, and he comfortably two-putts. DeChambeau's 38-foot birdie putt runs 6 feet past, but he drains the comebacker.

McIlroy stays 12-under. DeChambeau remains in second place at 9-under, but he's now joined by Justin Rose (who makes birdie at No. 12) and Ludvig Åberg (who makes birdie at No. 10).

4:10 p.m.: There's no shortage of entertainment at the par-4 seventh, which ultimately leads to McIlroy and DeChambeau matching pars. McIlroy tugs his tee shot into the left trees but hoists a short iron into the sky and sees it drop within a few feet of the hole; it releases to 8 feet, but he leaves the birdie putt short and taps in for par. DeChambeau's second shot from the fairway lands short in a greenside bunker, but he plays a magnificent third to 3 feet, using the slope, and converts for par.

McIlroy (12-under) leads the 89th Masters by three strokes with 11 holes to play. DeChambeau holds solo second at 9-under.

3:56 p.m.: McIlroy and DeChambeau exchange pars at the par-3 sixth hole, as McIlroy gets up-and-down from just off the back of the green and DeChambeau two-putts from 20 feet.

McIlroy (12-under) maintains a three-stroke lead over DeChambeau with 12 holes to play at the 89th Masters.

3:46 p.m.: For the first time Sunday, the final pairing has tied a hole. McIlroy and DeChambeau match pars at the par-4 fifth; McIlroy's tee shot sails right of the fairway but he catches a break with a window to the green. He plays a 9-iron just left of the putting surface and gets up-and-down for par on a 6-footer. DeChambeau plays the hole in more conventional fashion: fairway, green, two-putt.

McIlroy (12-under) holds a three-stroke lead with 13 holes remaining on Masters Sunday, chasing the career Grand Slam.

3:30 p.m.: The dramatic turn of events continues. For the second straight hole, McIlroy makes birdie to a DeChambeau bogey. McIlroy stripes an iron to 9 feet and converts at the par-3 fourth; meanwhile, DeChambeau misses left of the green, plays his second shot to 12 feet and two-putts.

McIlroy (12-under) now leads DeChambeau by three strokes, after leading by two at the start of the day and then falling behind after two holes. We knew we were in for a special Masters Sunday, and it hasn't disappointed thus far. In the final pairing, there have been three two-shot swings in four holes.

Ludvig Åberg makes birdie at the par-3 sixth, moving into solo third at 8-under.

3:17 p.m.: McIlroy buries a 9-foot curler for birdie at the short par-4 third to get a shot back, returning to 11-under for the tournament and into a share of the lead with DeChambeau. Moments later, DeChambeau misses a 9-foot par putt and falls back to 10-under.

Just like that, McIlroy has regained the lead on a topsy-turvy Sunday (already) at Augusta National.

3:05 p.m.: McIlroy fails to take advantage of the par-5 second (which he eagled in Saturday's third round), undone by a tee shot into the right fairway bunker. He plays his second shot to 90 yards, wedges to 30 feet and two-putts for par.

Meanwhile, DeChambeau hits the green in two and two-putts for a birdie. DeChambeau assumes the solo lead at 11-under, one stroke ahead of McIlroy.

Ludvig Åberg and Corey Conners share third place at 7-under, four back of DeChambeau's lead.

2:45 p.m.: It's an inauspicious start for McIlroy, who makes double bogey at the opening hole. He plays his second shot from the fairway bunker to 72 yards short of the green, pitches to 18 feet past the hole, and three-putts in disappointing fashion. DeChambeau gets up-and-down from just short of the green, draining a 7-footer. Just like that, the Masters is tied; McIlroy and DeChambeau share the lead at 10-under.

In the group ahead, Corey Conners missed a par putt from inside 3 feet, dropping back to 7-under. He shares third place with Ludvig Åberg and Justin Rose.

2:32 p.m.: The final group is underway. McIlroy pushes his opening tee shot right of the first fairway, catching a bunker, while DeChambeau hooks his tee shot into the left trees.

2:25 p.m.: The McIlroy-DeChambeau group is set to tee off at 2:30, as anticipation builds in McIlroy's pursuit of the career Grand Slam. Low scores are available in the early going, led by Hideki Matsuyama (6-under 66). Masters first-timer Brian Campbell closed in 4-under 68; Justin Thomas closed with back-to-back birdies for a 2-under 70.