The last 12 months have seen a little bit of everything: a career Grand Slam, Ryder Cup chaos and much more. With 2026 on the horizon, our writers look back at the most memorable moments of 2025 and why they mattered.
No. 15 – The motion of the zero-torque putter | No. 14 – “Happy Gilmore 2” takes the golf world by storm | No. 13 – The great 2025 (and crucial 2026) by Joaquin Niemann | No. 12 – JJ Spaun kills Oakmont | No. 11 – The invitation on the Internet | No. 10 – Jeeno Thitikul’s record year | No. 9 – Tiger Woods’ next role | No. 8 – Tommy Fleetwood breaks through | No. 7 – The birth of TGL | No. 6 – Keegan Bradley’s big decision | No. 5 – Europe wins another Ryder Cup | No. 4 – Chaos in Bethpage | No. 3 – Scottie Scheffler dominated (again) |
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Stories from 2025, #1: Rory McIlroy Slays the Demons of Augusta
The waiting is definitely the hardest part, and that’s what made Rory McIlroyWinning Augusta in April, the best moment of the golf year, is one that millions of us, alongside McIlroy and especially his parents, have been waiting for this moment forever. We stood in line for years, months, days, hours, minutes, and ultimately excruciating seconds.
Masters being Masters, and Rory being Rory, did it ever seem like a done deal? Did you ever think that he would actually win at Augusta and thus become the sixth player to complete the Grand Slam in his career, the door to happiness now wide open? Let’s be honest: some of us (many of us?) thought this would never happen, that Rory would have to endure his rather charmed golfing life with a missing tooth, like Phil Mickelsonone of the greatest golfers of all time, but 0 for 34 in US Open appearances, gets by.
Let’s review some of the scary moments with comments heard on the street:
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*Rory, on Masters Sunday, was part of the final duo of the day, with Bryson DeChambeau. (It’s not good.)
*He made a mess and a double in the first. (Tracks.)
*He made a 7 on the short par-5 13th after missing and flushing his third throw. (Um, I’m not trying to be a smartass here, but aren’t you supposed to make a two-putt birdie there if your plan is to win the Masters?)
*He made bogey at the 18th when a single par would have won, thus removing Justin Rose from the practice putting green and onto the 18th tee for a sudden-death playoff. (Advantage Rose, mojo being mojo.)
Rose made one par two putt in 18 in the playoff. McIlroy was about 40 inches away from winning. On any 40-inch putt at Augusta, especially over the hole, and especially when short putting is the only hole in your armor, you can make, you can miss and tap, you can three-putt. Or worse. At 7:16 p.m. on Sunday of the 2025 Masters, McIlroy picked up the back of his shirt, where sweat meets the spine, creating a small air gap there. We were all out of breath. Brad Faxon, Rory’s trainer, gasps for air. Rory’s parents, Gerry and Rosiewhile watching on TV, the same. Nantz and Faldo, from the CBS broadcast booth, same. Ten thousand paying fans, millions around the world, including South Florida, Northern Ireland, greater Rochester (where his wife, Erica, is from), India, China, the United Arab Emirates and every other place McIlroy has won, leaning, leaning, leaning.
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You weren’t doing that rewind – between 7:16:00 p.m. and 7:16:20 p.m. when Rory’s mallet-head putter, whale gray and the size of a hockey puck, began its backswing – but it was somewhere in your head:
*The 2009 Masters, McIlroy’s first, when he was called by a tournament to review his game, which he did in a greenside bunker on the 18th with his ball still in it. (No problem, in the end: it’s still a harrowing experience for a tournament rookie.)
*The Sunday 80 he shot at the 2011 Masters, after leading by 4 after three rounds.
*The kind of thing as he racked up top 10s at Augusta from 2014 to 2018, then again in 2020 and 2022. A little, but not really.
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The putt rolled at 7:16:22 and 7:16:23. You could hear a ball marker falling. At 7:16:24 a.m., he fell. Rory’s ball fell to the bottom of the hole. Rory himself fell to the ground, the knees of his white pants resting on the green grass of the 18th green. He lifted some air. Rose watched. McIlroy’s caddy, Harry Diamondlook at. Nantz and Faldo watched. His parents, his wife, their daughter, his fans, his enemies, his employees, his fans in green coats and his fans across the world, were clapping, stamping, slapping, hands in the air, because they cared too much. We all cared too much. For about a decade, we worried too much about it. He’s usually a killer, too concerned. This time, that wasn’t the case. Happily ever after is a big screen myth, but facts are facts and this one is a fact. Tiger Woods became the fifth male golfer to win the modern Grand Slam. Rory McIlroy is the sixth. He joined the club on a Sunday evening in April in Augusta, Georgia. So to speak, we were all there with him.
Michael Bamberger welcomes your comments on [email protected]
The position Why Rory McIlroy’s Fairytale Masters Victory Resonated So Deeply appeared first on Golf.
