Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy finally vanquished after fourteen years his demons and conquered his nemesis-The Masters-while also completing the career modern day Grand Slam: an achievement of winning the Masters, the United States Open Championship (US Open), the (British) Open Championship (the Open,) and the United States Professional Golf Association (PGA) Championship.
McIlroy became the sixth professional golfer in history to accomplish the feat and the first European golfer.
The Grand Slam was somewhat of a derivative term that evolved over time to encompass the exploits of American golfer Robert Tyre “Bobby” Jones, the greatest amateur golfer of all-time, who achieved a feat thought impossible called the impregnable Quadrilateral in 1930, winning both the amateur and open championships of the United States and the United Kingdom in the same year.
It was an impossibly difficult achievement unsurpassed in the annals of golf and never really challenged since. With the establishment by Bobby Jones of the invitation only Masters at Augusta National Golf Club in 1934, combined with the burgeoning American PGA tour, convention dictated that Jone’s impossible-and increasingly improbable feat-be described in somewhat simpler terms, but the golf world was not ready yet.
The modern-day Grand Slam was not even a thing when the larger topic informally entered the vernacular in 1935 in spectacular fashion. Golfer Gene Sarazen-in the second playing of the Masters–hit the “shot heard round the world,” a double eagle or Albatross by holing out his second shot at the par 5 15th hole for a 2 to tie Craig Woods and force a playoff that Sarazen would win to complete what we now know as the modern Grand Slam: but nobody called it that at the time.
The Masters was just establishing what would become its iconic position in the professional golf calendar. The tournament achieved a unique place in the annals of golf through meticulous standards, the reputation of Bobby Jones and the intrinsic value of old-style southern hospitality.
Eventually being spoken of in near mystical terms and ascending to achieve a reputation as an iconic must-do stop in the professional golf calendar. Later rising to the level of a major tournament, despite not being under the control of the PGA.
Sarazen had previously won the US Open, the United Kingdom/British “Open Championship” to become the “Champion Golfer of the Year” and the Professional Golf Association tournament. The discussions and debates describing this unique feat-viewed as somewhat the professional version of a career accomplishment in the shadow of Jones-its place and description in history was long deferred. Sarazen’s feat occurred long before the Masters was “The Masters:” the topic of what the accomplishment meant would not be settled for over twenty years.
But pundits being pundits, the topic of golf achievements was always a thing, particularly as the professional golf tour took shape and amateur golf was increasingly diminished. The best players typically graduated and tested their games on the professional circuit, as the travel schedule and rigor of plying their trade as an amateur was only possible for the wealthy.
The days of a golfer like Bobby Jones remaining an amateur for a career became as rare as the Albatross. US sports associations did not help matters, taking an increasingly aggressive stance against amateur compensation that would eventually just about kill-off the incentive and distinctions that made amateur competition a noble pursuit.
This issue of amateurs and compensation greatly changed the landscape of amateur sports in America, most notably in golf and tennis, but the specter or shadow of silly policy lingered long after policy drove irreversible changes in US sports (for a great read that touches on this aspect of the game, Mark Frost’s The Match details the long rumored iconic story of when Bryon Nelson and Ben Hogan took on amateurs Ken Venturi and Harvie Ward at Cypress Point Golf Club in 1956. Frost touches on many of the period issues facing amateur golfers that came to a head in the 1950s.)
The golf world finally came to consensus about Sarazen’s deed in the 1950s, dropping the amateur events from consideration and settling upon the modern version of the Grand Slam that we know today that includes the Masters.
McIlroy joins an elite group that includes only six golfers, including Gene Sarazen (the Squire, Eugenio Sarenci-1935,) William Benjamin Hogan (the Wee Iceman, the Hawk 1953,) Gary Jim Player (the Black Knight, 1965,) Jack William Nicklaus (the Golden Bear, 1966,) and Eldrick Woods (Tiger, 2000.)
Of these golfers, Tiger Woods is the only golfer to have held the four titles at one time, completing the so-called Tiger Slam in 2000-2001. When asked whether he considered his feat a “true or pure Grand Slam,” since convention called for it to be in the same year, he pointed to his coffee table and replied, “All I know is I have all four trophies right now.”
What makes the above group so elite and the Grand Slam so rare is the number of iconic golfers who were the best golfers in the world at the peak of their careers and yet never achieved the feat.
Name an iconic golfer-starting with Walter Hagen, Byron Nelson, Sam Snead, Arnold Palmer, Billy Casper, Seve Ballesteros, Tom Watson, Nick Faldo, Greg Norman, Phil Mickelson-and in spite of their tremendous consensus Hall of Fame careers, what all of these golfers share in common is the somewhat bane or lament of their careers about their inability to get over the hump and win that capstone major to complete the Grand Slam.
Many of the above were not really close, despite being iconic and pundit worthy favorites-for instance-Greg Norman was World Number 1 for 331 weeks in the 1980s and 1990s, won two Open Championships, and 88 tournaments worldwide, including 20 PGA tour events.
Norman’s record somewhat pales in comparison to many on the “wannabe” list, but he dominated the world of golf in his prime even while seemingly snakebit in the majors. In 1986 he established the distinction of the “Norman Slam,” holding the 54-hole lead in all four of the majors but was able to convert only the Open Championship.
The 1986 Masters was particularly rough, as Norman was closing fast on his idol Jack Nicklaus when he flared an iron right into the bunker from the middle of the fairway at 18 and was unable to get up and down to tie Nicklaus. The 1987 Masters was nearly as bad, as the “snakebit” Norman missed a birdie putt to win on the 18th hole and went into a playoff with Seve Ballesteros and Larry Mize and was beaten by an incredibly lucky chip-in by Augusta native Mize on the 11th hole. In 1989 he would miss a 12’ putt on 18 to finish out of the playoff between Nick Faldo and Scott Hoch.
The 1996 Masters was the final blow, as Norman had a six-shot lead over Nick Faldo heading into the final round but made just about every bad shot that you can’t make at Augusta National, losing to Faldo by an incredible 5 shots while shooting a gut wrenching 75.
Norman would never win a major on US soil despite myriad dominant performances in the Open Championship, the Players Championship-often referred to as the 5th major-and a number of PGA wins.
In the final analysis the golf gods-the rub of the green-being snakebit-in one event-kept some of the greatest golfers in the game from completing the Grand Slam. Many were starting to deeply worry that Rory was fated to suffer the same fate.
What makes it rough is when it gets into the golfer’s head and the unrelenting attention builds and is converted into internal pressure. Particularly in his case after his initial run at the majors that was so prodigious and Tiger-like, but the years passed and Rory did not appear to be getting any closer.
From that view McIlroy’s feat gets him off the “schneid,” capping off a near paralyzing quest denied for some fourteen years since he entered the final round of the 2011 Masters with a four-shot lead and finished the day ten shots back of the winner.
A painful memory that has undoubtably rerun in his mind and his gut each year like the ghost of Masters’ past. Burdened and laden with heavier emotions and anticipation each year as the golf world unnecessarily reminded him of the unremindable, with the Masters representing his only remaining quest to ascend to the Pantheon of golferdom.
Rory-and the Masters-did not disappoint. The 89th running of the Masters was truly one for the ages, with McIlroy providing an astoundingly Rory-like near schizophrenic performance that was equal parts awe inspiring, gut wrenching, and edge of the seat nerve wracking and incredible, before completing his quest with a birdie on the first hole of a playoff with European Ryder Cup companion Justin Rose.
For Rose it was one of the greatest unrequited performances in Masters’ history. He shot an incredible 66, coming back from 7 shots down in a round that consisted of 10 birdies and an unbelievably clutch ~20’ birdie putt on the 18th hole to ultimately tie McIlroy to get into the playoff.
It was the second time that Rose was the bridesmaid in a Masters’ playoff, losing to Spain’s Sergio Garcia in 2017.
McIlroy’s win is perhaps the most popular in Masters’ history among stiff competition.
McIlroy’s run at history was book ended by the type of performance that has rendered the 35-year-old beloved and iconic “Ulsterman” gray before his time.
His opening round 72 was stunning and not in a good way-coming off his recent performance in winning the PGA Tour Players Championship in fine form, a presage or harbinger many pointed to as an indicator that this would be Rory’s year: his time.
The round was stunning because Rory played 14.5 holes in a form and fashion that many consider the greatest ability in today’s game, overpowering the course, hitting shots that haven’t been seen since Eldrick “Tiger” Woods in his prime. A style of play that Wood’s routinely demonstrated over his stellar career. Soaring irons reminiscent of Nicklaus.
The combination of prodigious driving power and towering iron approaches was first drawn attention to and made famous by Robert Tyre “Bobby” Jones-the iconic founder of the Masters and the winner of the original Grand Slam. When asked about the play of Jack Nicklaus, Jones observed that Nicklaus-“played a game with which I am not familiar.”
Unfortunately for Rory a round of golf is 18 holes and in his last 3.5 holes he made two double-bogeys, making-as they say-“a hash of it,” turning what was looking like an error free 67 into a 72.
There is perhaps no golfer in the game today who has the ability to reward his worldwide legion of fans with astounding, awe inspiring and striking golf one round and just gut them with patchy, 5 handicap golf-sometimes within the same round-like Rory.
His play in the second round put a full stop to the doubts built after his first, as he played a near flawless bogey free round pf 66 that included four threes in a row on the back nine that produced a three under par score through the iconic Amen Corner, the always key 11-13 holes to put him back in the hunt within 2 strokes of the lead after round 2.
Round three was even better as Rory took the bit and sprinted to the front of the pack and the lead in the tournament, blazing out to the best start in Masters’ history with six threes in a row and was four under after 5 holes, shooting another 66 to incredibly take a two-stroke lead heading into Masters’ Sunday.
It would have been 3 shots had Bryson DeChambeau-in the role of spoiler and nemesis-not managed to snake in a ~50-foot putt on 18 to set the stage for a rematch for the ages of the duel at the 2024 US Open at Pinehurst, albeit close-up and personal this time in the final group.
Rory’s play was perhaps the most impressive golf run ever seen at the Masters or in any major championship, as Rory had a stretch where he was 10 under par during a 15-hole stretch encompassing the last nine of round two and the first six holes of round 3. He finished the tournament with an unbelievable and incredible 30 threes on his scorecard out of 73 holes …
Giving him the lead and providing him with a cushion of two strokes on Masters’ Sunday. But no lead is safe on Masters’ Sunday, with history replete with the crushing disappointments of modern-day golf superstars, perhaps none more famous than the above-described Norman loss to Faldo.
Rory had his own demons to slay. He would immediately bring his fans to the knife’s edge of their seats, facing their worst fears when he curiously and unbelievably immediately squandered his lead at the start of the final round by starting out with a double bogey, actually losing the lead to Bryson DeChambeau when the latter made birdie on the par 5 second hole.
Any fans (patrons in the Masters’ vernacular) pulling for Rory-which might have been 85% or more of viewers and all of the broadcast team-were near wrenched out of their seats by this disappointing start: simply dumbstruck by this turn of events.
When someone who you have attempted to shepherd to greatness with support and-dare I say it-excuses for over a decade slam dunks those optimistic emotions and good thoughts into the doldrums so quickly, the bad thoughts and feelings immediately predominate and become like a bad habit: difficult to shake.
In hindsight it was the harbinger of what will go down as one of the most exciting, bizarre and unpredictable championship Sundays at the Masters or in major golf history.
But Rory righted the ship and eventually both calmed and placated the masses with a return to Rory golf. Despite a blip or two, including a layup on 11 that ran within inches of the pond that would dash Bryson DeChambeau’s tournament hopes as surely as it had Ray Floyd before him in a playoff battle with Nick Faldo in 1998, Bryson’s shoddy iron play finally caught up with him and proved too mediocre to be salvaged by his stellar short game performance that had kept him in touch with and in contention with the leaders.
Rory’s bogey was an acceptable outcome on the always tough 11th hole, given the alternative and the circumstances.
With roars echoing throughout Amen Corner byway of Justin Rose and Ludvig Aberg, Rory steadied the ship and at one point moved out to what appeared to be an insurmountable lead of five shots-leading beyond sighs of relief to near giddiness in pundits, fans and broadcasters alike.
You could sense and feel history in the making as Rory averted disaster at the 12th hole where leaders typically go to drown on Masters’ Sunday.
He was nearly in the homestretch with two par 5 very scorable-reachable holes for him, playing the iconic 13th hole. He laid up with a 3 wood that inspired harrumphs from the broadcast team as a very sensible play: but it was totally unlike Rory and a violation of what was a famous Sam Snead adage to “dance with the one what brung you.”
Hole 13 is a driver and six or seven iron for Rory. Throttling down by playing safe in the midst of the tournament run he was in might have been good strategy for ordinary golfers, but the swashbuckling Rory routinely hits the 13th green in two in his career. The hole is near custom made for his towering draw, 330-yard bombs. I did not like the play.
In previous rounds he hit a 4, 6 and 7-iron into the green, although the earlier 4-iron off the pine straw was slightly pushed and he breathed a huge sigh of relief when it carried Rae’s Creek and he drained the ~14-footer for eagle.
His lead at the time was already inspiring the pundits, with the hint of somewhat of a gleeful note showing through by the announcers, already cleverly thinking of phrases like “dominant performance for the ages,” “vanquished all foes,” “dazzling the golfing world,” “in commanding fashion,” etc.
Which is when Rory did what Rory does. He hit a decent 7-iron layup that was-again-a bit too close for comfort in regard to proximity to Rae’s Creek but left him a mere 82 yard shot to the fat part of the green that would naturally flow down to the hole.
He walked up to the green to look over the landing area, went through the yardage calculation with his caddy and his pre-shot routine, took his stance-all systems go:
And then pushed the shot to the right 20 yards off the aim point where it one hopped into Rae’s Creek.
I was off the couch before I knew it, exploding with an expletive and a “Get the fluff outta here: No fluffing way!”
It was an unbelievably poor shot: a 10 handicapper could have done better. It was an appalling, perplexing mistake: a choke.
There is a convention and protocol for Augusta broadcasters. You run afoul of it at your peril, as David Feherty and Gary McCord found out in the past. Gary was fired and banned from the Masters for describing a borderline unputtable Augusta green as having been “bikini-waxed:” he never participated in another Masters’ broadcast.
In truth it would have been a dreadful shot for a 10-handicap golfer. But Johnny Miller was not on the call, so nobody spoke of the term thou shalst not invoke, e.g., the dreaded “choke.”
Meanwhile Ludwig Aberg and Justin Rose had been on the march. Aberg would eventually fall off and delaminate with a triple bogey on 18.
Rory looked shell shocked: ashen. I was reminded of his look and demeanor as he tried to close out the US Open Championship at Pinehurst in 2024 when he had simply and shockingly choked over the last several holes, missing greens from short range and donking two putts of less than 3’ that would ultimately be the difference and near hand the championship to today’s playing partner, Bryson DeChambeau.
Rory had similar problems in the 2023 US Open championship.
Make no mistake: Bryson (and Wyndham Clark) earned those Opens, but both were Rory’s to lose: and he did.
It was an unbelievable, incredible blunder for a golfer of Rory’s stature and talent. But in truth it has been the one bugaboo that “Rors” has demonstrated over his career that has truly kept him from performing in line with his immense talent and cresting the mantle to legend in his own time.
That is not to diminish or belittle his achievements. There are a whole host of great-Hall of Fame golfers-who struggled at times in their careers because of “stuff.” Byron Nelson retired early to ranch in Fort Worth, Texas, his ailing stomach issues under pressure eventually forcing him into early retirement at the peak of his career.
He was truly at the top of his game, 33 years old, fresh off a season where he won 11 tournaments in a row-albeit during the war years where competition was thin-and 18 tournaments total.
Ben Hogan lost his ability to putt, developing one of the first cases of the “yips” after his car accident in February 1948 that damaged his left eye: his putting woes were legendary. He was always the leading ball striker in any tournament he played after the accident, including winning three majors in 1953 when he completed the Grand Slam by winning the British Open the only time he played it at Royal Carnoustie: a legendary performance.
Sam Snead, Bernard Langer, Arnold Palmer, Tom Watson, Johnny Miller, all battled the yips in their careers: the list is not small.
Rory also bogeyed 14. While Rose was in the midst of reeling off an incredibly clutch 8 birdies in a 14-hole stretch. He hit an ideal shot on 16 and was shockingly now lining up a putt for birdie that would give him the lead as Rory lined up his putt at 14.
Rory missed and Rose made: Rory was now chasing-out of the lead for the first time all day.
Rory then did what Rory does. He hit a long drive on 15 that left him somewhat blocked by the trees, demanding a significant draw to reach in two. Rory took dead aim, hitting a spectacular, towering 7-iron draw off the right bunker that cleared the pond and closed to less than 15’ for eagle.
An astounding, breathtaking, iconic shot reminiscent of a few previous gems that defy ordinary human capability. The roars were deafening.
Rory would miss the eagle putt but make the birdie to tie for the lead. Rory would regain the lead with an incredible iron to 4’ on 17 after Rose bogeyed 17, giving him a bit of a cushion heading to the final hole.
Rose continued his clutch performance on 18, hitting a perfect drive and approach shot to ~20’ and draining the putt to close within one: it was all he could do.
The Masters’ broadcast crew seemed much more optimistic than many Rory patrons or viewers. There was likely a huge sigh of relief when Rory hit a perfect drive faded into the left-center of the fairway that left him a mere 125 yards to the pin-a wedge.
Life seemed great, all was calm, when out of the blue Rory again did what Rory does: on the brink of the final shot, he flared the wedge out to the right into the greenside bunker, blasted out to ~8’ and missed the putt: just like that the demons continued to hold sway.
The resulting playoff would start on the 18th hole. Both players hit great drives, with Rose’s 8-iron approach about 16’ above the hole. Rory had the same yardage as regulation play-125 yards-and hit an incredible shot within some ~3’ of the pin and sank the putt. The rest is history.
I thought of Johnny Miller and his broadcast tendency to call the action, but truth and frank talk is not appreciated at the Masters. Nobody on the broadcast team would dare use the “C” word to describe Rory’s final round.
And in truth-they shouldn’t have. The Ulsterman has suffered enough over the years.
Kudos to Rory McIlroy for winning the Masters-completing his childhood dream-and joining the elite group of Grand Slam champions.
He accomplished what none of the great European Champion golfers was able to do, a feat matched by only one other international player (Gary Player) throughout golf’s long and storied history.
With the growth of his family and he approaching senior statesman status in the game with the diminished play of Tiger Woods, it will be interesting to see what this portends for his future.
Scottie Scheffler is still the number one golfer on earth and has been for a long time now. One wonders what will motivate Rory going forward.
Although the Open Championship is returning to Royal Port Rush this year, where Rory has another stinging memory to vanquish at that venue, after missing the cut last time at what is a home game for he and pal Shane Lowry, who won it for his very popular first major. That should be a huge motivator for a few players who will both be playing with a skip in their step.
The Masters never disappoints and this year was no exception. It will go down as one of the greatest Masters ever in the wake of Rory’s accomplishment. And kudos to Justin Rose-10 years Rory’s senior-who put on a performance for the ages that fell short by a whisker.
And Rory-well he is a generational talent that rarely disappoints-the greatest player to come out of Europe in the modern era-and arguably the greatest of all time. Even when he shockingly disappoints, it is always very entertaining.
Rory perhaps summed it up best as he opened the traditional Masters’ champion interview, offering up a question: What will we talk about next year?
“Rors” also noted as he slipped on the Green jacket-aided by Scottie Scheffler-that he looked forward to coming back in the future, particularly next year, where he hopes to slip the Masters’ Green Jacket on himself!
It would be a fitting follow-up to his long and tortured quest.
15 April 2025
LSMBTGA: Lamestream media echo chamber (LMEC-L) social media (SM) big tech tyrants (BT,) government (G) and academia (A)
If you enjoyed this article, then please REPOST or SHARE with others; encourage them to follow AFNN. If you’d like to become a citizen contributor for AFNN, contact us at managingeditor@afnn.us Help keep us ad-free by donating here.
Substack: American Free News Network Substack
Truth Social: @AFNN_USA
Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/afnnusa
Telegram: https://t.me/joinchat/2_-GAzcXmIRjODNh
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AfnnUsa
GETTR: https://gettr.com/user/AFNN_USA
CloutHub: @AFNN_USA