Rory McIlroy’s long and winding road to redemption, a Green Jacket, and Grand Slam immortality

Rory McIlroy finally completed the career Grand Slam at the 2025 Masters.

5,116 days later than planned, Rory McIlroy has finally slipped on the Green Jacket – and etched his name alongside Woods, Nicklaus, Hogan, Player, and Sarazen as the sixth man to complete golf’s modern Grand Slam.

There’s something about Rory McIlroy and Augusta National that keeps us coming back. It’s been golf’s version of Ross and Rachel for more than a decade – full of drama, near-misses, heartbreak, but just enough hope to keep us hooked. His quest for a Green Jacket, which had once felt like an inevitable coronation, had slowly shifted from a question of when to one of if.

Rory McIlroy’s journey toward the Grand Slam hasn’t just been a chase. It’s been a full-blown saga – a rollercoaster of triumphs, dips, dominance, and doubt, laced with moments of genius and heartbreak that have defined a generation.

And yet, every April, we tune in, wondering if this will finally be the year the stars align.

It all started in 2011…

McIlroy’s 2011 Masters meltdown

A fresh-faced and mop-haired 21-year-old McIlroy touched down in Georgia for the first major of the year with a reputation as the leading light of the next generation of stars.

An excellent 2010 had marked his best season since turning pro three years earlier, highlighted by a first PGA Tour win at the Quail Hollow Championship, a crucial contribution to Team Europe’s triumph at the Ryder Cup, and T3 finishes at The Open and PGA Championship.

And he justified the lofty expectations at Augusta – for three days, at least.

McIlroy opened with a bogey-free seven-under 65 for a share of the first-round lead.

He followed that with an impressive 69 in the second round, sending him into the weekend with a two-shot lead over Jason Day and Tiger Woods.

If he felt the pressure of being chased by such pedigree players, he didn’t show it. After a shaky start to his third round, McIlroy played the final six holes on Saturday in three under to stretch his lead to four strokes heading into the decisive final day.

“It’s a great position to be in; I’m finally feeling comfortable on this golf course,” said McIlroy, who had made just three bogeys in 54 holes.

“I’m not getting ahead of myself. I know how leads can dwindle away very quickly. I have to go out there, not take anything for granted, and go out and play as hard as I’ve played the last three days. If I can do that, hopefully things will go my way.

“We’ll see what happens tomorrow because four shots on this golf course isn’t that much.”

That statement would prove to be a heartbreakingly accurate presage.

McIlroy settled the nerves with a booming drive off the 1^st tee in the final round, but then went long with his approach and three-putted from the fringe.

Three consecutive pars steadied the ship, but others were chasing hard. While McIlroy floundered, Charl Schwartzel’s birdie-par-eagle start saw him draw level at the top of the leaderboard.

At the halfway stage, McIlroy had managed to cling to a one-shot lead from Schwartzel, Angel Cabrera, K.J. Choi, and a rampaging Tiger Woods, whose five birdies and an eagle across the front nine sent Augusta into a frenzy.

But if the front nine was a slip from McIlroy, the back nine was a tumble down Rae’s Creek – swept away by pressure and Augusta’s merciless charms.

His tee shot on the 10^th went careening into a tree, ricocheting to settle between the white cabins that separate the main course from the adjacent par-three course. It offered McIlroy and his supporters an unwanted glimpse at a part of Augusta rarely seen on television.

Though his initial escape was successful, yet another collision with a tree and a two-putt on the green saw a stunned McIlroy eventually tap in for a triple bogey. Having led the field one hole and seven shots earlier, he arrived at the 11th tee in seventh.

A bogey at the 11th was followed by a four-putt double on the 12th. When his tee shot on the 13th found the creek, he put his head down and looked on the verge of tears, his race well and truly run.

Mercifully, the last five holes passed without major incident. A missed putt for birdie from five feet at the final hole summed up McIlroy’s day, though he was given a rousing reception as he left the green.

Just moments earlier, the same crowd had erupted as Schwartzel sunk his fourth consecutive birdie to seal his first major title. After starting the day four shots adrift of McIlroy, the South African finished 10 shots ahead of him.

McIlroy’s eight-over 80 marked the worst score of anyone in the field for the final round. Having headlined the leaderboard for most of the week, he finished tied 15th.

The tears he’d been fighting back during that final round flowed during a phone call with his parents the following morning, but at his press conference, McIlroy was upbeat.

“I’m very disappointed at the minute, and I’m sure I will be for the next few days, but I’ll get over it,” he said.

“I was leading this golf tournament with nine holes to go, and I just unraveled. It’s a Sunday at a major, [that’s] what it can do.

“This is my first experience at it, and hopefully the next time I’m in this position I’ll be able to handle it a little better. I didn’t handle it particularly well today, obviously, but it was a character-building day. I’ll come out stronger for it.”

Once again, McIlroy would be proven right – though in far happier circumstances.

Rory’s rapid redemption

In his next major start, Rory didn’t just step into the house of major champions – he booted the door off its hinges.

Just two months after the Masters meltdown that had left fans wondering how long it would take McIlroy to recover, he answered that question in no uncertain terms.

At the 2011 US Open at Congressional, McIlroy delivered one of the most dominant major performances in modern history. He led from start to finish, shot a record 16-under-par, and won by eight shots.

It wasn’t just a win for a 22-year-old McIlroy – it was a statement.

“I had a point to prove,” he said. “I didn’t want people to remember me for Augusta.”

Teeing up the Grand Slam

In 2012, McIlroy doubled down. After briefly losing form in the summer, he roared back to win the PGA Championship at Kiawah Island. Once again, it was a romp – an eight-shot victory that looked effortless. Rory was flying. He ended the year as World No.1, the FedEx Cup champion, and clearly golf’s next dominant force.

His third major, the 2014 Open Championship at Royal Liverpool, might have been his most mature performance. He started hot, built a cushion, and coolly fended off Sergio Garcia and Rickie Fowler. He became just the third player – following a couple of guys called Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods – to win three different majors by the age of 25. He was now three-quarters of the way to the career Grand Slam. At this stage, it looked inconceivable that he wouldn’t have it wrapped up within a few years, at worst.

Then, just weeks later, he won his fourth major at the 2014 PGA Championship at Valhalla in a rain-delayed thriller that ended in near darkness. He beat Phil Mickelson, Rickie Fowler, and Henrik Stenson in a classic, cementing his place as the sport’s dominant player. The “Rory Era” was here.

From Congressional to Valhalla, he won four majors in 15 appearances. Now all he needed was a Green Jacket to complete an inevitable career grand slam…

Chasing Magnolia

But the Green Jacket – the one he’s always needed to complete the slam – remained agonizingly out of reach.

There was the 2011 collapse, of course. That quadruple-bogey on 10. The lost tee shot on 13. The teary walk down 18. One of the most painful Sundays in Masters history.

But even beyond that, Augusta has tormented him in quieter ways. In 2018, he was paired with Patrick Reed in the final group on Sunday. The stars felt aligned. He started hot, shaving the lead to one with a birdie on the 2nd. But, not for the first time, his putter abandoned him when he needed it most. He shot 74 and finished T5, six shots back.

In 2020, he opened with a disastrous 75 before rallying with three brilliant rounds. Too little, too late – T5 again as Dustin Johnson cruised to victory.

In 2022, he produced one of the greatest final rounds in Masters history – a thrilling 64, capped with that outrageous bunker hole-out on 18. But Scottie Scheffler had already run away with it. McIlroy finished second but was never really in the mix to win.

Seven top-10s at Augusta. No wins.

The near-misses elsewhere

It’s not just Augusta. Since 2014, McIlroy has had several golden chances to add to his major tally – only to watch them slip away, often in gut-wrenching fashion.

• 2018 Open Championship at Carnoustie: Rory surged into contention on Sunday with back-to-back birdies on 13 and 14. He had a share of the lead late, but Francesco Molinari played mistake-free golf to edge him out.
• 2022 Open Championship at St Andrews: This one still stings. In control for much of Sunday on the Old Course, Rory hit all 18 greens but couldn’t buy a putt. Viktor Hovland faded, but Cam Smith caught fire, holed everything, and carded a back-nine 30 to win by one. Rory had to settle for third in front of a disappointed crowd.
• 2023 U.S. Open at LACC: Another golden chance. Rory played disciplined golf all week, but just couldn’t get anything to drop on Sunday. He made 16 pars, one birdie, and one bogey, losing by a shot to Wyndham Clark – who held him off down the stretch with clutch putting and nerveless composure.
• 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst No.2: And then came Bryson. Rory had clawed his way into the lead on Sunday, navigating Pinehurst’s turtleback greens with patience and precision. It looked like this might finally be the moment he broke the decade-long major drought. But two missed putts inside four feet – on 16 and 18 – opened the door. Bryson DeChambeau stormed through it, drilling a nerveless up-and-down from the sand on 18 to steal the trophy by one. For Rory, it was another runner-up finish, another battle scar. “I’ll rue those missed putts for a long time,” McIlroy said afterward. “But I’ll learn from it, like I always do.”

In total, since his last major win in 2014, McIlroy has recorded 20 top-10 finishes in majors, including 10 top-5s. He’s been close – very close – many times.

The slumps and soul-searching

In between those near-highs have been periods of real struggle.

Post-2014, Rory’s game seemed to fluctuate. His driving – usually the most effortlessly immaculate in the world – became more erratic. His putting has often been streaky. He chased swing changes. Switched equipment. Admitted to feeling lost at times.

There were mental battles, too. For a while, he talked openly about playing for enjoyment, not chasing legacy. He looked content – but also slightly disconnected.

“For a couple of years I was maybe trying to be someone I’m not,” he said in 2021. “Now, I’m just trying to be me again.”

That return to self has been crucial.

The Rory renaissance

Over the past few years, McIlroy has found clarity. He’s gone back to what made him great: rhythm, freedom, a touch of swagger.

He reunited with coach Michael Bannon, later mixing in work with Butch Harmon. He’s sharpened his iron play. His wedge game – once a glaring weakness – is better. His putting, while still volatile, has been good enough to win.

He won the FedEx Cup in 2022, coming from six shots behind to beat Scottie Scheffler at East Lake. He backed it up with more wins in 2023.

Since then, he’s added several more victories to his resume. In 2024, he secured wins at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans (with Shane Lowry) and the Wells Fargo Championship. He continued his strong form into 2025, capturing titles at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and The Players Championship, bringing his total PGA Tour wins to 28. These performances have solidified his position as one of the top players in the world, and he entered the Masters leading the FedEx Cup standings.

Before the 2025 Masters, McIlroy sat on 28 PGA Tour wins and 18 DP World Tour wins. But, crucially, still just four majors. Only Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus had more majors by age 25. But where they kept going, Rory stalled.

That’s why this week mattered so much.

The end of the road… or just the beginning?

On Sunday, April 13, 2025, Rory finally did it. 5,116 days after his 2011 Masters meltdown, McIlroy made history by becoming just the sixth golfer to win the (modern) career Grand Slam.

He stared down Augusta National – not to mention Bryson DeChambeau and then Justin Rose – and etched his name alongside the all-time greats. It was far from straightforward. It never is with Rory. But now, the career Grand Slam – achieved by just five men before him – is finally his.

Sarazen. Mr Hogan. Player. Jack. Tiger. Rory.

Fourteen years after his Masters debut, and 14 years after heartbreak on the 10th hole, Rory’s arc came full circle. It wasn’t about talent – it was about tenacity. Enduring the noise. Coming back again and again.

McIlroy’s Augusta tears this time were happy ones.

“It feels incredible,” he said in Augusta’s Butler Cabin after a playoff victory over Justin Rose. “This is my 17th time here and I started to wonder if it would ever be my time. 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 wondering what we’re all going to talk about going into next year’s Masters. I’m just absolutely honored, thrilled, and proud to be able to call myself a Masters champion.”

Any Masters champion deserves to feel proud, but Rory perhaps more than any other.

So, at long last, it’s over. The near-misses, the Sunday stumbles, the years of will-he-won’t-he speculation. Rory McIlroy is a Masters champion. The Green Jacket is his. Golf’s greatest love story has its happy ending. And we have a new Grand Slam golfer.

Turns out McIlroy and majors were never over, they were just on a break.