The last 12 months had a bit of everything – a career Grand Slam, Ryder Cup chaos and much more. With 2026 on the horizon, our writers look at the most memorable moments from 2025 and explain why they mattered.
no. 15 – Impeller motion with zero torque | no. 14 – ‘Happy Gilmore 2’ takes the golf world by storm | no. 13 – Joaquin Niemann’s big 2025 (and crucial 2026) | no. 12 – JJ Spaun kills Oakmont | no. 11 – Online invitation | no. 10 – Joan a Are nites who has been a sinner and 3. | 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 – Bethpage Chaos | no. 3 – Scottie Scheffler dominated (again) |
Stories of 2025, no. 1: Rory McIlroy slays Augusta demons
The waiting is really the hardest part, and the thing that did it Rory McIlroyWinning Augusta in April, the single best moment of the golf year is one that millions of us, along with McIlroy and especially his parents, had been waiting forever for. We were in the waiting line for years, months, days, hours, minutes and, finally, excruciating seconds.
The Masters being the Masters, and Rory being Rory, did it ever feel like a done deal? Did you ever think that he would actually win at Augusta and thereby become the sixth player to complete the career Grand Slam, opening the door to happiness? Let’s be honest here: Some of us (many of us?) thought it would never happen, that Rory would have to endure his mostly charmed golf life with a missing tooth, as Phil Mickelsonone of the greatest golfers ever, but 0-for-34 in US Open appearances, is doing.
Let’s review some of the skin-crawling moments with comments heard on the road:
*Rory, on Masters Sunday, was in the last pair of the day, with Bryson DeChambeau. (It’s not good.)
*He bunted and doubled in the first. (Traces.)
*He made a 7 on the short par-5 13th after dropping and washing the third pitch. (Uh, not trying to be a smart guy here, but shouldn’t you make a two-shot birdie there if your plan is to win the Masters?)
*He made a bogey on the 18th when a simple par would have won, pulling Justin Rose off the practice green and onto the 18th tee for a sudden-death playoff. (Advantage Rose, mojo being mojo.)
Rose had two hits in 18 in the playoffs. McIlroy had about 40 inches to win. On any 40-inch putt at Augusta, especially from above the hole, and especially when the short putt is the only hole in your armor, you can make, you can miss, and you can three-putt. Or worse. At 19:16 on Sunday at the 2025 Masters, McIlroy picked at the back of his shirt, where the sweat meets the spine, creating a small air space there. All gasping for air. Brad Faxon, Rory’s pitching coach, gasping for air. Rory’s parents, Gerry and Rosiewatching on TV, same thing. 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 and China and the United Arab Emirates and all the other places McIlroy has won, leaning, bowing, leaning.
You weren’t doing this flashback — from 7:16:00 PM to 7:16:20 PM, when Rory’s hammerhead, gray-gray, hockey puck-sized shooter began to flash back — but it was somewhere in your head:
*The 2009 Masters, McIlroy’s first, when he was called by the tournament to review his game, what he did in a green bunker on 18 with the ball still in it. (No problem, in the end: still, a harrowing experience for a tour newbie.)
*He shot 80 on Sunday at the 2011 Masters after finishing 4 over after three rounds.
*The good kind, as he racked up top-10 finishes at Augusta in 2014 through 2018, then again in 2020 and 2022. Sort of, but not really.
The shot clocked in at 7:16:22 and 7:16:23. You can hear a ball marker drop. At 7:16:24 it fell. Rory’s ball landed at the bottom of the hole. Little Rory himself fell to the ground, the knees of his white pants resting on the 18th green. He was blowing air. Rose watched. McIlroy’s caddy, Harry Diamondwatched. Nantz and Faldo watched. His parents, his wife, their daughter, his fans, his enemies, his employees, his fans in green coats and his fans around the world, cheering, stamping, dancing with their hands in the air, ’cause they really cared. We all took great care. For about a decade, we cared a lot. This is usually a killer, being very careful. This time it wasn’t. Fortunately, forever is a myth of the silver screen, but facts are facts and this is a fact. Tiger Woods was the fifth male golfer to win the modern Grand Slam. Rory McIlroy is sixth. He joined the club one Sunday night in April in Augusta, Ga. In a manner of speaking, we were all there with him.
Michael Bamberger welcomes your comments at Michael.Bamberger@Golf.com
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