Rory McIlroy Finally Exorcises Masters Demons, Captures Career Grand Slam

Rory McIlroy finally woke up from his Masters nightmare, and when his head hits the pillow on Sunday night, it'll be nothing but the sweetest dreams for the Northern Irishman. 

Although he made it far harder for himself than it needed to be, McIlroy buried a three-foot putt on the first playoff to beat Justin Rose. It was McIlroy's first Masters victory as he became just the sixth golfer to achieve a career grand slam. 

The winning putt came after a heartbreaking miss on the 18th green of the final regulation hole for McIlroy, who just needed to make par to win the green jacket. However, he left the short putt out to the left, which dropped him to 11-under and in a tie with Rose, who shot a brilliant final round 66. 

Golf fans got the dramatic ending that they thought they would get, it just didn't involve exactly who everyone thought it would. Bryson DeChambeau, who entered the final round two shots behind McIlroy, started hot but quickly fell off and basically took himself out of contention on the 11th hole. At that point, it was Rory McIlroy's tournament to win. 

Out of nowhere, Justin Rose suddenly started playing some of the best golf of his life, making seven birdies in a 10-hole sketch and that's when McIlroy decided to have his meltdown by inexplicably hitting an 86-yard wedge shot into the water at 13. He made double-bogey. 

Rose ultimately took a one-shot lead before posting a bogey on 17. Oh, and then Ludvig Åberg joined the party, and we had a three-way tie at the top heading down the final few holes. 

Somehow, McIlroy managed to keep it together and hit a brilliant third shot into the green at 15 to give himself a look at eagle right after the Rose bogey on 17. McIlroy missed the eagle putt, but cashed the birdie to get back out in front by a shot. Then, McIlroy threw a dart on the par-3 16th hole just as Rose was burying a long putt on 18 to get into the clubhouse at -11. 

However, Rory failed to make his putt -- the theme of the day -- and we had a two-way tie at the top, as Aberg melted down on 17 and 18. McIlroy needed at least one birdie on the last two holes to finally capture the elusive green jacket. 

Well, McIlroy got that birdie on 17, yet inexplicably hit another terrible wedge on 18, which is what led to him having to make a five-foot par putt. Although he failed on the 18th green the first time, he didn't make that mistake twice. 

The Rory McIlroy major drought is finally over after dramatic Masters win

McIlroy won four major titles from 2011-14 but found himself in the midst of an epic dry streak, especially at Augusta National. 

Rory McIlroy won the 2014 PGA Championship, the last time he captured a major title. In 2014, McIlroy also won The Open Championship, and he captured victories at both the 2012 PGA Championship and the 2011 U.S. Open. 

Coming into 2015, everyone expected McIlroy to dominate the golf world and start piling up the majors. It just never happened. Especially at the Masters. From 2014-2022, McIlroy finished in the Top 10 at Augusta National seven times, including a second-place finish in 2022, but couldn't close out the tournament. 

Rory McIlroy finally won the Masters, completing the career grand slam and winning his first major golf tournament in over 10 years. 

(Michael Madrid-Imagn Images)

That all ended on Sunday, and McIlroy joins elite company as the sixth golfer to win all four major tournaments in their careers. That list includes Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, and Tiger Woods. 

Rory McIlroy is among the immortals in golf history and, with the way he's playing, don't be surprised if he's able to get a few more major titles under his belt in the next few years.