WiretoWire: Rory McIlroy completes career Grand Slam in Masters playoff

Rory McIlroy wondered if this day would ever come. After donning a green jacket in the Sunday twilight at the 89th Masters, he needn’t wonder anymore. McIlroy won his first Masters with a birdie on the first playoff hole, the par-4 18th at Augusta National, after matching Justin Rose at 11-under 277 on a rollicking Sunday at the season’s first major.

The win vaulted McIlroy into elite company as the sixth player to achieve the career Grand Slam in men’s professional golf, joining Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods. It was a long-awaited coronation for McIlroy, who hadn’t won a major since the 2014 PGA Championship and suffered a litany of close calls in that span, including a heartbreaking defeat to Bryson DeChambeau at last summer’s U.S. Open.

McIlroy played alongside DeChambeau in Sunday’s final group at Augusta National, and the Northern Irishman rebounded from an opening double bogey to turn in 1-under 35 and build a four-shot lead early on the back nine. The plot thickened as McIlroy made bogey at the par-4 11th and a potentially devastating double bogey at the par-5 13th, laying up and then dunking his third shot into the water. He followed with another bogey at 14, but he bounced back with a birdie-par-birdie stretch on Nos. 15-17 to move to the precipice of golf immortality. After a bogey at the 18th though – pushing a wedge approach into a greenside bunker and then missing a 5-footer for par – McIlroy needed extra holes to complete the career Grand Slam.

McIlroy met the moment with a wedge to 3 feet on the first extra hole, which was good for the winning birdie after Rose’s 15-foot birdie try slid by. McIlroy fell to the ground as the moment engulfed him, allowing past disappointments to fade away and savoring the knowledge that he has achieved luminary status in professional golf – once and for all.

"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."

TOUR's best head to Hilton Head

The TOUR's best head about 150 miles east from Augusta, Georgia, to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, for the fifth Signature Event on the PGA TOUR schedule – the RBC Heritage. Contested at Harbour Town Golf Links, an iconic Pete Dye/Jack Nicklaus design, Scottie Scheffler returns to defend his title from 2024 along with other past champions including Jordan Spieth and Matt Fitzpatrick. The limited field also includes the finalized Aon Swing 5 and Aon Next 10, all looking for their chance to take home the coveted RBC Heritage Plaid Jacket.

Second Additional Event takes place at Puntacana Resort

For the second Additional Event of the season, the PGA TOUR heads to the Corales Puntacana Championship and will be contested alongside the RBC Heritage. With valuable FedExCup points on the line, the Corales Golf Course represents a tricky challenge for players – especially when the wind blows – but it’s chock-full of stunning vistas, too. Past champions in the field include Joel Dahmen and Chad Ramey, both looking to replicate their success and jump-start their season. Corales Puntacana represents the first event of the new string of tournaments making up the Aon Swing 5 for the Wells Fargo Championship, the season’s next Signature Event, making it a key week for plenty on TOUR.

Video of the week

Mic check

“The one thing I would say to my daughter Poppy … never give up on your dreams. Never, ever give up on your dreams.” – Rory McIlroy after completing the career Grand Slam at the 89th Masters

By the numbers

3– Rory McIlroy charged into the lead on Saturday at the Masters and did so in historic fashion, becoming the first player to card six consecutive 3s to start any round.

41– After 41 appearances at the Masters, two-time champion Bernhard Langer said a final goodbye to Augusta National. Langer missed a 10-foot par putt on 18 Friday and failed to make the cut by one after rounds of 74-73. Not only would making the putt have extended the two-time champion’s Masters career by two rounds, but it also would have made him the oldest player to ever make the cut at Augusta National.

16– The Masters is filled with traditions, and Sunday hole locations are among them. But No. 16 saw a changeup this year, as Masters officials moved the hole location from its traditional back-left spot to the back-right portion. The move was an apparent nod to the 50th anniversary of the dramatic 1975 Masters, where Jack Nicklaus won his fifth green jacket. The 16th is where Nicklaus executed his most famous shot from that victory, making a 40-foot birdie putt en route to beating Johnny Miller and Tom Weiskopf.

Comcast Business TOUR TOP 10

The Comcast Business TOUR TOP 10 highlights and rewards the extraordinary level of play required to earn a spot in the TOP 10 at the conclusion of the FedExCup Regular Season as determined by the FedExCup standings. The competition recognizes and awards the most elite in golf.