The 2025 Masters Tournament concluded on Sunday, April 13, after a storybook victory for veteran professional golfer Rory McIlroy.

Held annually at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga., a victory at the Masters is highly coveted among professional golfers. The tournament is extremely rich in tradition, and it is one of the most highly anticipated and recognizable events in all of sports.

The Masters is divided into four rounds of 18 holes, with one round being held on each of the four days of the tournament.

This year’s Masters Tournament began in favor of Scottie Scheffler, who won in both 2022 and 2024.

McIlroy, a player who had accomplished a lot in his career but was just missing the elusive green jacket awarded to the winner of the Masters, climbed the leaderboard by the end of the third round at 12 under par. At that point, he was followed by Bryson Dechambeau at 10 under par and Corey Conners at eight under par.

Going into the fourth round, the tournament was McIlroy’s to lose. However, it seemed like he might lose the lead and the tournament.

McIlroy doubled the first hole and lost the lead entirely after two holes. However, he scored a birdie on hole three to regain the lead.

After the ninth hole, he had a score of 13-under, and he went into the back nine with a four-shot lead.

He tried to play the remaining holes more conservatively, aiming to maintain his current score rather than play aggressively to improve it. However, on hole 13, he missed the green and a putting opportunity, and eventually scored a double bogey, his fourth of the tournament.

In front of McIlroy, Justin Rose scored a birdie to tie with him at 11-under.

After a very poor 13th hole, McIlroy hit an extremely impressive shot to put the ball six feet from the later hole. He ultimately scored a birdie to put him back at a one-shot lead over Rose.

McIlroy hit another fantastic shot on the 17th hole, setting himself up for another easy birdie to maintain his lead.

At this point, many spectators were ready to celebrate his win. However, on the 18th hole, with a routine putt to give him a green jacket, he just missed the shot.

With that missed shot, McIlroy and Rose were now in a playoff to decide the winner. The Masters playoff is a sudden-death style matchup where the leaders play the 18th and 10th holes until a winner emerges.

In the playoff, both competitors hit very good drives on their second shots.

Rose missed a long putt wide to miss out on a birdie. McIlroy made his shot, a shorter putt, to win a tournament he had fallen short of so many times before.

“It’s been difficult, and I’ve tried to approach this tournament with the most positive attitude each and every time that I’ve shown up, and I think just the sort of cumulative experience that I’ve gained coming back here each and every year, I just I feel like I get a little more comfortable with the shot needed,” McIlroy said to CBS Sports.

With his first-ever win at the Masters, McIlroy joined an elite group of professional golfers as the sixth player to ever complete a career grand slam, meaning he has won each of the four major golf tournaments: The Masters, the PGA Championship, the U.S. Open and the Open Championship.

McIlroy’s win comes as a very welcome development among both devoted golf fans and casual spectators.

“I don’t watch golf a ton, but I always make sure to watch the Masters, and I was happy for Rory,” said Owen Faulk, a senior accounting major. “It’s been a long time coming for him.”

With the Masters crowning a 2025 champion in McIlroy, the first major tournament of the season has now concluded, and competitors will regroup and prepare for the tournaments to come.