On Sunday at Augusta National Golf Club, history was made.
For the sixth time in the modern golf era, someone has completed the career Grand Slam. Rory McIlroy became the first European to complete the feat, winning the 2025 Masters Tournament after nearly 11 years of not winning a major championship.
The now five-time major champion joins Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods in the club that makes him one of the greatest golfers of all time.
However, it was not easy for the Northern Irishman. He made it hard on himself, making four double bogeys and was seven-back after the first 18 holes.
McIlroy, 35, has been around for a long time. He turned professional in 2007 and won his first major championship at the 2011 U.S. Open, which was played at the Blue Course at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md. A year later, he won the 2012 PGA Championship at the Ocean Course of the Kiawah Island Golf Resort in South Carolina.
After winning the 2014 Open Championship at Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Merseyside, England, only the Masters was left to complete the career Grand Slam.
2014 also included his second PGA Championship, this time winning at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky.
However, his heart was broken multiple times en route to a fifth major championship. The most notable ones include the 2022 Open Championship at St Andrews and the missed putts at last year’s U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2.
The career Grand Slam could have been done before his first major title. As the 54-hole leader, McIlroy had a meltdown down the stretch that saw him not even finish within the top 10 of the 2011 Masters Tournament.
Some of golf’s greatest players have spurts of choking in these moments. According to NBC Sports, McIlroy ended up chatting with Greg Norman, the two-time Champion Golfer of the Year (1986 and 1993) who most notably choked away a six-shot lead at the 1996 Masters Tournament.
Golf is partially a mental game. The ones who overcome adversity and power through their mistakes come out on top.
After two double bogeys, including a shot into Rae’s Creek on the 13th hole that opened the door for the likes of Justin Rose and Ludvig Åberg, McIlroy would not give up. The weight that has been on his shoulders and getting heavier for the past decade needed to go away.
Had McIlroy lost, his choking would have overshadowed his then-four major championships in people’s eyes.
But he prevailed on the first playoff hole to beat Rose by one shot.
There are only three players in the history of golf to win all the major championships plus The Players Championship: Nicklaus, Woods and McIlroy.
He is not on the same level as the first two. No one is and no one will be.
But there is little to accomplish now that he has completed the career Grand Slam.
His prime has seen him in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Ranking for the last four years. He always stayed relevant as one of golf’s best players, ranking in the top 20 every week since Oct. 4, 2009.
McIlroy’s five major championships tie James Braid, John Henry Taylor, Byron Nelson, Peter Thomson, Seve Ballesteros and Brooks Koepka on the all-time list.
He accomplished something that even Walter Hagen and Lee Trevino could not do during their Hall of Fame careers.
However, he is not done yet. The major championships ahead are paved for him to succeed.
The PGA Championship is at the Quail Hollow Club, where McIlroy has had lots of success at their annual Quail Hollow Championship (known as the Truist Championship for sponsorship reasons), winning four times there.
The U.S. Open is at the Oakmont Country Club, where The Athletic’s Brody Miller noted how the course is built on excellence off the tee.
Then there is The Open Championship at Royal Portrush Golf Club, in McIlroy’s home country of Northern Ireland.
Overall, you can argue that McIlroy’s Masters win could mean more to come as he continues his legendary journey in the world of golf. He is not a choke artist anymore; he is one of the greatest golfers to ever play.