AUGUSTA, Ga. — A family of four wandered. They weren’t lost; they were exactly where they were supposed to be. Bumping off patrons and sneaking between corridors, they attempted to carve any angle to see. Rory McIlroy was rolling through Amen Corner Sunday at Augusta National Golf Club with the lead, and this was where they wanted to be.
Having arrived in town two days prior, they had already expunged plenty of tears. It was an emotional time given the journey began on the West Coast of Ireland — at least that was their starting point this week.
Gathered around the water fountain down in the valley, they climbed up the hill to gain a vantage point. Through a small crack in the trees, a flagstick appeared. It was all they could see. The other senses did the heavy lifting as applause came roaring from the other side of the grandstand.
McIlroy marched to the 12th tee with the Masters in hand despite a dropped shot on the prior hole. It was known honors was his as Bryson DeChambeau’s second into the 11th had traveled to the bottom of the pond. The news had spread to where they elected best to see.
After his shot was struck and found dry land, there was a sigh of relief. A conversation with the father of the clan revealed his ties to Rory. A native of Holywood in Northern Ireland, his wife began to speak before he talked of his relationship with the Masters champion to be.
“[Rory] always calls me, ‘Mister,'” the elder revealed with an embarrassed smile. “I told him once, ‘Rory, after winning four major championships, I think I should be the one calling you ‘mister.'”
Laughs were exchanged, hands were shaken and names were introduced. Just as we were about to go our separate ways, I couldn’t help but ask …
“What do you call him when he wins No. 5?”
He gave me a smirk.
The best Rory McIlroy we’ve seen
It’s not an exaggeration. The numbers say it. He says it. The trophies and green jacket say it. So, let’s just accept it. This is the best version of Rory McIlroy to ever exist. At the ripe age of 35, the five-time major champion is aging like fine wine. Drunken lunches with the lads are officially back and looked at in a positive light. Finally!
“I’ve got a lot of experience,” McIlroy said Saturday evening after his second straight 66. “I came in here talking about being the most complete version of myself as a golfer, and I just have to keep reminding myself of that and remind myself that, no matter what situation or scenario I find myself in [Sunday], I’ll be able to handle it.”
McIlroy, the 2025 Masters champion and sixth career grand slam winner all-time, is currently operating at a pace +0.50 strokes gained per round better than his 2022 season and a hair more than that of 2012 and 2014. The putting has improved (despite some shaky moments), and the iron play — the variety which it encompasses — is in a place never seen.
While the physical attributes are nice to discuss and dissect, it’s the mental aspect that previously held him back. Talent and tools have never been a problem for McIlroy, but if he has indeed made a massive stride between the ears, we may be looking at an immense back half of his career.
With the weight of the Masters and grand slam aspirations no longer weighing on his shoulders, the free-swinging Ulsterman has nothing to lose and everything to gain for the next decade.
How many can he win?
Is the actual 2025 grand slam in play given Quail Hollow, Oakmont and Royal Portrush (in Northern Ireland) await?
Are 40 PGA Tour wins and a few more majors asking too much?
I don’t think so.
Recognizing Justin Rose
As a member of the starting lineup for #TeamRose, I was absolutely gutted. Coming into the weekend, he had the look in his eye as the 18- and 36-hole leader, but he put the car in reverse and seemed like a distant variable in this equation.
That was until he clawed back like a true champion.
Rose made par on No. 10, his last in regulation, before going on the heater of all heaters: six birdies and two bogeys to catch McIlroy at the finish. He stood on the 17th green with a large scoreboard in his view and pondered an 8-foot par putt, which felt huge.
He positioned, repositioned and tucked his polo underneath his arm. He backed off not once but twice before finally ulling the trigger. It ultimately missed, but Rose rebounded without a second glance with a closing birdie on No. 18 to give him a chance.
The Englishman has now finished two Masters without a single player beating him in regulation, yet he remains without a green jacket in his closet. A second major championship does a lot to bolster one’s résumé as playing careers wane and primes are slowly passed by.
It may happen for Rose given how he has played in major championships as of late — let’s not forget the runner-up result at The Open — but even if it doesn’t for the 44-year-old, his stature as a champion of the game needs to be appreciated.
A young kid who jumped onto the scene and looked into the high heavens walking up the last at The Open, Rose has only risen since with an Olympic gold medal, a reign as world No. 1, a U.S. Open trophy, a FedEx Cup title, an Order of Merit and 25 professional wins.
He may be a one-time major winner (for now), but he isn’t like some of the rest.
“It hurts,” Rose said. “What are you going to do about it, though? I think I’ve already kicked on in my career when I finished second to Sergio [Garcia here in 2017]. By then, played some of the best golf of my career, got to world No. 1.
“What do you choose to dwell on, you know what I mean? There’s no point in being too despondent about it, and you look at all the good stuff that got me into this situation. You can’t skip through a career without a little bit of heartache. It’s not going to happen. If you’re willing to lift the big championships, you’ve to put yourself on the line. You have to risk feeling this way to get the reverse. It’s all nets out.”
Joe Skovron has the best bag in golf
Late on Sunday, as Ludvig Åberg was making his move, a ball settled at my feet. It belonged to the Swede, and while I was trying to position myself for the final pairing behind, there was no way I would miss a chance to hear Åberg and his caddie, Joe Skovron, discussing what they saw.
Sitting on the pine straw and on a slight up slope, Åberg looked intent on whipping a low fade around the tree to run it up the 14th green. Skovron immediately stepped in and suggested going around the other side of the tree with a hook, which would give him (1) a higher-percentage chance of finding the surface and (2) a better angle into the back pin location with more green to utilize should his ball come up short.
It wasn’t much of a conversation; Åberg immediately agreed. He went onto to make par on that hole and confirmed what I have long thought: Skovron has the best bag in golf.
Put some respect on Patrick Reed’s name
After Åberg punched his second out of trouble, playing partner Jason Day hit his approach from the middle of the fairway. The pin on No. 14 was accessible if able to find the correct section of the green, and with this shot, the Australian did not. It was a horrible wedge — yanked long and left — and it squandered a birdie opportunity.
Dressed in all black, Day slammed his club over his back and into the fairway where it stuck. He sauntered on and left his caddie to pick up the dirty utensil. As all this transpired, a patron told his group of friends, “Of course, Patrick Reed would do that.”
I tried to correct him (I hate being that guy), but he was convinced of his ways and shrugged me off like a wannabe tackler. But it got me thinking about the other man in black.
Reed may not be the most lovable figure in this sport, and for good reason — tee gate, tree gate, you can name a few more — but man is he a grinder, especially at Augusta National. Since his win in 2018, the Masters champion has five top-12 finishes in seven starts in the year’s first major championship.
He carded four rounds of under-par golf this week, including back-to-back 69s over the weekend, to finish in third place — two strokes outside the playoff. You don’t have to love him. You don’t have to even like him. In fact, it is OK if you still hate him. But put a little respect on his name. He deserves that much, at the least.
Please: No cellphones at majors
What many do not tell you about covering your first Masters is how difficult it can be. Choose to follow the wrong grouping or pairing and you may be completely out of luck as another makes a significant move. The lack of readily available information was daunting at first, but it ultimately makes the viewing and it makes the experience.
Without cell phones on the grounds at Augusta National, humans beings are forced to be … wait for it … humans beings. People stand in line 90 minutes for merchandise (OK, perhaps that is not the best example), but they actually speak with one another while waiting. They are not looking down towards their feet but rather up at the possibilities.
This is even more apparent when taking in the actual golf. There is no sound like an Augusta National roar, and there is no feeling like trying to discern from which corner of the property it came.
“That was down on No. 13.”
“Are you sure it’s not the 15th?”
The uneasiness of which news flows through the pines is one of many elements that makes the Masters so great. While players are walking up to greens, scores are revealed — cheers and groans are heard. People choose to believe what they wish and ignore the bad news.
An entertaining example of this was when we walked behind the 17th green following McIlroy’s shot into No. 15. A gentleman was talking about Rory and where he stood. My colleague offered up the information we held, but he didn’t wish to believe it.
“How do you know?”
“We literally saw it.”
Big, bad Bryson
Ask anyone under age 30 to name their three favorite golfers; there is an excellent chance Bryson DeChambeau’s name is on the list. He has captured the minds and eye balls of the younger generation, and while it did not work out for him this fateful Sunday (has Bryson become the new face of Masters misery?, he will be back.
DeChambeau has been inside the top six on the Masters leaderboard in his last eight rounds. That’s right: The last two years, DeChambeau’s name has only existed in one place at Augusta National — the first page of the leaderboard.
While a victory would have marked perhaps the completion of another phase in his evolution — side-saddle putting, using his compass, the bulking and everything that has since ensued — real ones know he will remain changing. For better or worse, he will tinker and try different approaches. Whether that is attempting to find the optimal forearm position with his swing or new content strategies for his channels.
He’ll try to optimize. He’ll live his life. And he’ll make people feel a certain way.
“Just more of the same with my irons. Was trying to figure it out from last Sunday. For some reason, I’m just not fully optimized,” DeChambeau said after his final round. “I get over it, and I feel like I’m going to hit the heel, and I try to pull across it and it just goes left on me. If I just had somewhat of good iron play this week, it would have been a lot different outcome.
“But could-have, should-have, would-haves. You’ve got to do it out here, and it’s going to be a fun playoff to watch. But I take a lot of good from this week. I’m excited for the rest of my life.”
Masters magic
Every year it happens; it shows up in different ways. At first glance, it was thought to be captured by Rose, but he was not the only one whose play was fueled by the Augusta National magic. Making his 41st and final Masters start, Bernhard Langer nearly turned back the clock and played his way into the weekend.
His counterpart, Fred Couples, who didn’t even know if he would play this week, nearly did something similar. While both of these players are past champions and on one end of the age spectrum, one of the youngest competitors in the field, Nick Dunlap, showed grit beyond his years.
Carding an opening-round 90, Dunlap did not have to return for Friday. Hundreds of golfers before him, through the years, have claimed injury or some other nonsense to excuse themselves from doubling down on such a performance.
Instead, the two-time PGA Tour winner rolled up his sleeves and went back to work. A night after beating golf balls from Target at his AirBnb, he improved by 19 strokes. It’s a moral victory, sure, but one which has attracted new fans. And rightfully so, because during an era of quitting and whining, hard work still pays.
“It’s extremely rewarding and extremely humbling and frustrating at the same time,” Dunlap said. “I think professional golf can be a very lonely place, especially when you’re playing poorly. But it’s been a lot of fun. You get to travel to a lot of historic and unbelievable places like this one.
“You try to have fun even though it can be quite frustrating at times, and especially right now it’s hard to find something fun about it. But I got to come out and play Augusta today, so it could have been a lot worse.”
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