The azaleas were in full bloom, but for a while there on Sunday, it looked like the pressure of a back-to-back Green Jacket might cause Rory McIlroy to come unglued. After nearly blowing a commanding third-round lead, Rory found himself in a dogfight. At one point on Sunday afternoon, the leaderboard was as crowded as the Kennedy Expressway at rush hour, with no fewer than six players holding a share of the lead.
The Charge and the Fade
The story of the weekend was the return of the world’s steady hand, Scottie Scheffler. After a quiet start, Scottie mounted a Sunday charge that had the patrons roaring, ultimately finishing just one stroke back. It was a classic display of the ball-striking consistency we’ve come to expect from the two-time champ.
On the flip side, our research into “Augusta IQ” proved true. While rising stars like Jacob Bridgeman and Ben Griffin showed incredible momentum coming into the week, the late-round “Augusta fade” was real. Both found themselves in the thick of it before the final round on Sunday reminded them that experience is the greatest currency at Augusta National. Bridgeman limped in with a 76 and Griffin tallied a 77 on the fourth round of play.
Similarly, the “LIV factor” seemed to manifest in a lack of Sunday stamina. Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm, were not a factor. DeChambeau missed the cut finishing at 6-over after the second round. Rahm, a 2016 Masters champ, also carded a six-over-par, and had to claw his way back to make the cut, and he carded a 68 on the last day of play, his final score of at 1 over par was well off the pace of the leaders. Meanwhile, former winners like Hideki Matsuyama and Jason Day used their course knowledge to grind out respectable T12 finishes, proving that once you know how to navigate these greens, you never truly lose that touch.
There’s something so special about Augusta National, from the beautifully manicured course, to the rows of spectators six, seven, and eight deep at the historic holes, like Amen Corner. I’ve been to the US Open and PGA Championship twice, but never covered the Masters or the Open across the big pond.
Copyright: ©Augusta National 2025
A Tale of Two Rorys
Watching Rory preserve his win with a miraculous save on the 18th tee brought me back to two personal encounters I had with the man back in 2013.
I first recall seeing a young Rory at the 2013 HSBC Championship in Abu Dhabi. As luck would have it, there was a tournament going on coinciding with our trip to the Emirates. I watched McIlroy slice a tee shot that looked destined for a lost ball, partially buried in the sand near the desert fauna, and nearly out of bounds. Most players would have hit a layup and played for a tough par or likely bogey; Rory calmly knocked it out to within a few feet of the cup. That same grit was on display Sunday at the 18th. When his drive veered way right, threatening to turn a Green Jacket into a playoff nightmare, he leaned on that same escapability to preserve his one-shot victory.
photo by the author
Later that same year, I actually met him at a BMW-sponsored event prior to the Western Open. The tournament sponsor had him driving a then-new i3 electric car around a makeshift track at Great America. Even then, behind the wheel of a compact EV, you could see the focus. He handled that electric car with the same precision he used to navigate the localized “amen corners” of the amusement park parking lot.
Whether he’s in the desert, an electric car in Gurnee, Illinois or the 18th at Augusta, Rory has always had that “it” factor. This 2026 win didn’t just cement his legacy; it validated the data. In the end, history and heart won out over the hot hand.
tags: Rory McIlroy, 2026 Masters, Augusta National
