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Rory McIlroy’s Winning Final Round May Have Been The Craziest In Major Championship History

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Rory McIlroy

©Michael Madrid- Imagn Images


Rory McIlroy is known for his tragic Sunday collapses at major championships, including a couple of them at Augusta Nationals while trying to win a Green Jacket at The Masters. If you’re a Rory fan, you know exactly what I’m talking about.

On Sunday, Rory finally got it done at Augusta, winning his first Green Jacket and somehow, his first major championship since 2014. To do it, he played one of the funniest, topsy-turvy, unpredictable rounds of golf in final round major championship history.

McIlroy came into Sunday with a two-shot lead over Bryson DeChambeau, with McIlroy at -12 and Bryson at -10 heading into the round with Corey Conners one shot back of them, Ludvig Aberg at -6 and Justin Rose at -5. The drama started early, as Rory came out an made a double-bogey 6 on the first hole.

After DeChambeau birdied the 2nd hole, he actually took the lead by one at -11 over McIlroy. But, Rory would play a flawless first nine after the 2nd hole. Birdies at 3, 4, and 9 got him to -13 as Bryson faltered and McIlroy was up 4 on Dechambeau after 9. A birdie on 10 put him up 5, and it looked like for all of the world that he was going to cruise home. What unfolded next was perhaps the most unpredictable final nine in Augusta history.

Rory made a bogey at the 11th and a par at the treacherous 12th hole, setting up a crucial scoring opportunity at the gettable Par 3 11th. But, McIlroy elected to lay up on his second shot, despite having more than enough to get it there in two. Then, he hit one of the downright worst wedge shots you will ever see.

That is an appalling miss, and led to a double. Meanwhile, Justin Rose was making a charge after starting the day at -5 and being stuck in neutral in the early going. He had got it to -10 at that point, and after Rory bogeyed 14 and Rose birdied 16, he actually took a one-shot lead.

This is when the round truly became unbelievable. Rory hit this shot at 15, one of, if not the best, shots of his career.

Naturally, he missed the eagle putt, but tapped in for birdie, and Rose made a nearly simultaneous bogey at 17. Surely, Rory was in the clear.

Rose birdied 17, and Rory missed a solid look at birdie on 16, but hit this shot at 17 with the tournament tied and made the birdie putt.

And Rory piped his drive down the middle on 18 and had just a wedge and two-putt to win the Masters. Yeah, it’s never going to be that easy. Rory hit another awful wedge, dumping it in the bunker to the right, but hit a solid bunker shot to give him a putt for The Masters and the career grand slam.

Did he make it? Of course not.

At this point, Rory is certainly going to choke it away, right? His decade-long tragedy in majors will continue, surely.

Rory had other ideas.

Both players hit the fairway, and Rose hit his second shot to about 10 feet. Rory answered, and called game.

After a Rose miss and Rory make, Rory had his Green Jacket. But, it came in the most chaotic day of golf I can ever remember.

Garrett Carr BroBible avatar
Garrett Carr is an editor at BroBible with an expertise in NFL and other major professional sports. He is a graduate of Penn State University and resides in Pennsylvania. Garrett is a diehard Penn State, New York Mets, and New York Knicks fan.
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