Rory McIlroy’s forgotten Masters moments: Losing the gesture, Bryson’s disappointment

A year ago, Rory McIlroy led everyone on a blistering ride around the back nine Augusta National like him tried to achieve his Master’s dream and join the Grand Slam career club.

McIlroy’s winning shot and his 7-iron on the 15th green will be replayed for as long as the Masters exists. So will his shocking wedge on the 13th green that jammed him right and dropped him into Rae’s Creek, turning a crown into a fight to avoid a collapse that would have been almost impossible to overcome.

But while there are some moments from McIlroy’s winning day that are burned into our memories, there are some events that faded into obscurity in McIlroy’s meltdown and frantic battle to hold onto the green jacket.

With the Masters arriving next week, we went back and watched every minute of last year’s final round to find moments that were missed as the chaos unfolded that Sunday at Augusta National.

Bryson’s WWE entrance

Bryson DeChambeau finished his third round by pouring in a long birdie putt to set up a The much-anticipated Sunday clash with McIlroy.

McIlroy would start with a two-shot lead over DeChambeau and a four-shot cushion over Corey Conners, who was tied for third. Justin Rose, who would end up being the final hurdle in McIlroy’s quest, started the day at 5 under, seven shots behind McIlroy.

Masters Sunday was billed as a boxing match between McIlroy and DeChambeau, with Rory looking for revenge after Bryson’s win at the 2024 US Open at Pinehurst No. 2.

“It’s going to be the biggest stage we’ve had in a long time, and I’m excited about it,” DeChambeau said Saturday before his final-round match with McIlroy. “We both want to win really, really bad. … It’s going to be an electric atmosphere.”

McIlory committed to it stay “in his little bubble”, while DeChambeau seemed to feed off the crowd and embrace the mainstream electricity that enveloped Augusta National to start that Sunday.

As they arrived in the top two, their contrasting entries told the story.

First up was McIlroy, who briefly acknowledged the fans but kept his eyes on the task at hand, trying to put everything out of himself, caddy Harry Diamond and the course.

With McIlroy waiting on the tee, DeChambeau took his time signing a few autographs on the putting green before walking down the fairway to the first tee with his arms outstretched to five fans on either side.

Rory returns the scripts, to Bryson’s dismay

Even with potential contenders Ludvig Åberg and Justin Rose slowly creeping up the leaderboard on the front nine, Sunday was supposed to be about Rory vs. Bryson.

DeChambeau drew first blood as McIlroy got off to a poorer start. He putt both of his first shots into the fairway bunker, missing his spot by a yard each time.

After two holes, McIlroy went two to one against DeChambeau. But everything changed on the third hole. DeChambeau opted to lay up with an iron to give himself a full club on the green as McIlroy blasted driver to his front. McIlroy stepped up and made birdie, while DeChambeau three-putted for bogey. McIlroy had the lead back and would take two more shots on the fourth hole to go up by three.

Then came the ninth green, where McIlroy and DeChambeau faced similar lengths for birdie. After a debate over who was far, McIlroy went first and putt his birdie putt. DeChambeau missed, which put his Masters hopes on life support and led to a letdown a few holes later.

After bogeying 11 and 12 to walk away from the championship, DeChambeau bogeyed 13 and offered a few comments to his caddy, Greg Bodine.

“I’m playing really bad,” DeChambeau said.

After he pulled his second left putt on 13, the discussion continued.

“I just finished the drawing,” DeChambeau said. “I’m trying to hold it, and I can’t hold it. It’s what I was talking about on the beam.”

And with that, DeChambeau’s role in the proceedings ended.

But McIlroy was ready to bring others into the picture.

Ludwig’s missed opportunity

After a runner-up finish in his Masters debut in 2024, Ludvig Åberg began his final round of 2025 at 6-under par, six shots behind McIlroy.

He birdied the first and sixth to move to 8 under, but then had a birdie putt on the par of the seventh out. He followed that up by missing a suitable birdie at the par-5 8th to stay five behind McIlroy, who was then 13 under. Aberg birdied 10 and 13 around a bogey on 12. When McIlroy doubled the 13th, Åberg was just two shots back. When he birdied the 15th and McIlroy and Rose bogeyed 14 and 17 respectively, Åberg tied for the lead with a bogey on the 16th.

Åberg made a ho-hum par on the par-3 16th and then hit a laser on the 17th green, giving him a shot at birdie. But Åberg’s chances at the Masters fell apart after that. As McIlroy birdied the 15th to retake the lead, Åberg ran his birdie putt at 17 over the hole and missed the long putt to drop two shots back with one to play.

Needing to tee off on 18 to have a chance, the Swede left the fairway bunker and ended up making a triple bogey to end his round. He finished in seventh place, but Ludvig Åberg had moments at the end to steal the Masters from McIlroy.

Rose’s gestures

It’s hard to overstate how great Justin Rose played on the back nine on Sunday. He bogeyed the 10th hole and then made six birdies and two bogeys to get home, including a 20-foot birdie putt at the bottom to post 11 under and send the roars back to McIlroy, who was on 16.

When Rose’s closing shot fell, he tossed his hat to the crowd, gave a fist pump and then looked to the sky in honor of his late father.

Everyone knows how the story ends.

Both McIlroy and Rose make their putts in the playoff and Rose almost misses his approach, but she misses the hole and stops at the crest. McIlroy stuffs his approach to four feet. When Rose’s putt slips past the hole, McIlroy, who had seen the same putt a week earlier while watching the Augusta Women’s National Amateur, rolls it in and crumples to the ground to celebrate.

McIlroy on his knees is the enduring image from the 2025 Masters, but it’s easy to forget what happened next.

There was Rose, standing at the back of the green smiling and waiting for a teary-eyed McIlroy. He hugged her and offered a message to the newest member of the Grand Slam club career.

“I just said, listen, this is a historic moment in golf, isn’t it, somebody hitting a career Grand Slam,” Rose said after the loss. “I just said it was really nice to be able to share that moment with him. Obviously, I wanted to be the bad guy today, but still, it’s an important occasion for the game of golf.”

Rory McIlroy then made his way down the fairway and into the clubhouse where he was congratulated by many including Shane Lowry, Tommy Fleetwood and Justin Rose’s wife Kate.

And with that, Rory McIlroy officially donned a green jacket and ended one of the most memorable Masters Sundays in history.

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