2025 Masters Final Round Recap, Leaderboard, and Notes

The Fried Egg Golf staff recaps the final round of the 2025 Masters, one of the more thrilling days of major championship play in years.

Living the Dream

By Joseph LaMagna

Resilience. It’s the word that’s been used repeatedly to define Rory McIlroy’s quest to win the Masters, and rightfully so. It doesn’t just capture his pursuit of one of golf’s rarest prizes; it captures the essence of his long, illustrious career. After losing the 2024 U.S. Open in heartbreaking fashion, McIlroy took to social media to congratulate Bryson DeChambeau and reflect on his experience at Pinehurst. “The one word I would use to describe my career is resilient,” he wrote. “I’ve shown my resilience over and over again in the last 17 years and I will again.” Show it again, he did.

On Thursday afternoon, McIlroy walked off the 17th green having made two sloppy double bogeys in three holes – a significant blow to his chances of winning the golf tournament. But 30 pars, 14 birdies, three eagles, five bogeys, and two more double bogeys later, McIlroy walked off the 18th green triumphant, becoming just the sixth player to complete the career grand slam.

Sunday delivered one of the most chaotic and intense rounds of championship golf that fans will ever witness. McIlroy got off to a shaky start, double bogeying the first hole after an errant drive and a three-putt. But just as McIlroy has done after every misstep in his career, he dusted himself off, put the tee back in the ground, and came back for more. He racked up four birdies between Nos. 3 and 10 – including an all-world birdie on No. 7 – to reclaim control of the tournament. Then, standing over a wedge shot on No. 13 with a three-shot lead, McIlroy made one of the worst swings of his career, finding the water from 86 yards leading to a costly double bogey. Moments later, Justin Rose buried a birdie putt on No. 16 to tie the tournament.

Following another bogey on No. 14, serious doubt loomed over McIlroy’s chances of avoiding the most crushing defeat of his career. But McIlroy didn’t quit. Instead, he responded on No. 15 with perhaps the most brilliant shot of his career: a high, drawing 7-iron around the trees from 207 yards to six feet. The roller coaster continued on 17, as McIlroy stuffed an 8-iron from just under 200 yards to two feet, regaining a one-shot lead with one hole to play. At one moment, McIlroy’s chances appeared slim. Mere minutes later, he had the tournament back in hand. Such was the story throughout the entirety of Sunday.

But, naturally, McIlroy’s adventure to the green jacket didn’t end stress-free. Needing par to win the most significant golf tournament of his life, McIlroy dumped a wedge from the middle of the fairway into the right green-side bunker and missed a short par putt to clinch the tournament, breathing life into Rose’s chances at winning in a playoff.

Fittingly, McIlroy punctuated his tournament with a clutch 125-yard shot to two feet from nearly the same location as he’d faltered in regulation. He knocked in the short birdie attempt and etched his name among the all-time greats who have won the Masters – a tournament McIlroy declared “by far the best golf tournament in the world” during the green jacket ceremony on the 18th green.

Though resilience is a word that will forever be associated with McIlroy’s 2025 Masters win, complete is a close second. Completing the career grand slam, yes. Moreover, Rory McIlroy proved he’s the most complete golfer he’s ever been. At age 35, he is a better player now than he was ten years ago, a belief he reiterated in his post-tournament press conference.

Improved wedge play. Sharpened long irons. Tidy short game and putting. McIlroy has paired a complete set of tools with the second-to-none firepower he’s wielded from the time he stepped on tour. He’s also learned and matured strategically, embracing course-management principles about when to be aggressive and conservative, a wise departure from the reckless abandon with which he played throughout much of his younger years. All of the hard work, determination, wisdom, and patience culminated in a reward that McIlroy described as the best day of his golfing life, a Masters victory.

With the win, McIlroy’s major championship total climbs to five, tied for the 15th most all-time. A career major count of four didn’t feel right. Zero Masters wins certainly didn’t feel right, either. We no longer have to reconcile a major championship résumé that, while impressive, felt incomplete given the prodigious talent that is Rory McIlroy.

Beginning next April, McIlroy can arrive at Augusta National without needing to answer questions about the pressure he feels to end golf’s most-discussed major championship drought. Nor will he need to make alternative plans on Tuesday night while many of his peers congregate for one of golf’s most exclusive meals. Rightfully, McIlroy will show up on property as a Masters champion, with a seat at the Champions Dinner for as many Aprils as he chooses to drive down Magnolia Lane – a seat befitting one of the greatest talents to ever play the game.  

Seven Shots That Defined the Final Round

By Will Knights

The final round of the 2025 Masters will go down in history as one of the most chaotic final days in the history of the tournament. Singling out the most important shots is a nearly impossible task, but if you ask me, there are seven that defined the day.

Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau read a putt during the final round. (Photo: Fried Egg Golf)

Rory McIlroy, No. 1,  Tee Shot – In his post-round press conference, McIlroy noted that he was incredibly nervous all morning and on the first tee. That fact was evident in the way he struggled out of the gate, making a nervy swing on the opening tee shot that ultimately led to a double bogey and the start of an incredibly volatile round.

‍Justin Rose, No. 11,  Third Shot – Playing a few groups ahead of the final pairing, the 36-hole leader made four birdies on the first nine to get within shouting distance but was still well behind. When he rolled in this putt on No. 11, he was still well behind Rory, but it launched him into full attack mode.

Bryson DeChambeau, No. 11, Second Shot – Going into the final round, we all knew that Bryson didn’t have his A-game this week. The fact that he was in contention and leading at points during the weekend made it that much more impressive. He was clearly fighting his swing, specifically with his irons. This came to a head on his approach into No. 11 when he overcooked a 9-iron and, at the time, seemingly shot himself out of the tournament. He was overheard saying to his caddie that he couldn’t hold it off and that it was the feel he was fighting on the range.

Rory McIlroy, No. 13, Third Shot – The lead had shrunk to three at this point, but Rory still undeniably controlled his own destiny as he faced an 80-yard wedge shot on the iconic par 5. Dumping the shot into the creek wasn’t only a shock to the system, it was foreshadowing for what was to come on the 72nd hole. Wedges have always been McIlroy’s bugaboo, and they reared their ugly head twice when it mattered most on Sunday.

Justin Rose, No. 16, Tee Shot – Shortly after McIlroy’s double bogey on No. 13, Rose got up and down for his eighth birdie of the day on No. 15 and stood on the tee one shot behind McIlroy. With the back-right hole location, the par-3 16th was anything but the traditional birdie hole that we’ve come to know. Rose stepped up and knocked it inside five feet, a shot that would earn him the outright lead when McIlroy bogeyed the 14th behind him.

Rory McIlroy, No. 15, Second Shot – On Saturday night, I wrote about how Rory was 1-1 against the 15th hole in big moments this week. That if it came down to another big shot on Sunday, the victor of the three-round series could very well determine whether or not Rory went to Butler Cabin. When McIlroy set up to go for the green with a hook from around the trees, there was no doubt that this shot could decide the tournament. Matching the intensity and moment of his approach on Saturday, McIlroy unleashed a booming 7-iron that perfectly landed on the front third of the green and wound up within 10 feet for eagle. He wouldn’t make the putt, but pulling the shot off in that moment reasserted himself in the tournament and certainly got him back on his front foot after what can only be described as a brutal start to the inward nine.

Rory McIlroy, Playoff  Second Shot – After finding the greenside bunker with a wedge in regulation and with Rose already inside 15 feet for birdie in the playoff, it was a cruel irony that McIlroy found himself with the exact same yardage in for his approach in the playoff as he did on the 72nd hole. Unlike the approach 20 minutes before, McIlroy hit the perfect wedge and spun it off the backboard inside of three feet. It was a wedge of redemption, and one that ultimately completed the most challenging day of Rory McIlroy’s golfing career.

Photo of the Day

By Cameron Hurdus

After a long discussion from the edge of the trees on the 15th, the way Rory McIlroy pulled the club from his bag looked as though he was resigned to the fact that this shot would decide his tournament. After eagling the same hole on Saturday, he stepped up and hit one of the great Sunday approaches in Masters history.

This piece originally appeared in the Fried Egg Golf newsletter. Subscribe for free and receive golf news and insight every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.