The past twelve months have had a little bit of everything: a Grand Slam career, Ryder Cup chaos and much more. With 2026 on the horizon, our writers look back at the most memorable moments from 2025 and explain why they mattered.
No. 15 — The putter motion without 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 — The internet invitation | No. 10 — Jeeno Thitikul’s record year | 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) | No. 2 – The new sheriffs of Gulf
Stories from 2025, No. 1: Rory McIlroy slays Augusta demons
The waiting really is the hardest part, and what made Rory McIlroy’s win at Augusta in April the best moment of the golf year is that millions of us, besides McIlroy and especially his parents, had been waiting forever for this moment. We stood in line for years, months, days, hours, minutes and ultimately excruciating seconds.
Because the Masters are the Masters and Rory is Rory, did it ever seem like a done deal? Did you ever think he would actually win at Augusta, becoming the sixth player to complete a career Grand Slam, the door to a happily ever after now wide open? Let’s face it: Some of us (many of us?) thought it would never happen, that Rory would have to endure his largely enchanted golfing life with a missing tooth, as Phil Mickelson, one of the greatest golfers ever, short of 0-for-34 in US Open appearances, does.
Let’s take a look at some of the exciting moments with commentary from the street:
*Rory was in the final pair of the day on Masters Sunday, with Bryson DeChambeau. (That’s not good.)
*He messed up and doubled on the first. (traces.)
*He made a 7 on the short par-5 13th after flushing and flushing his pitch shot at third. (Uh, I’m not trying to be wise here, but shouldn’t you make a two-putt birdie there if your plan is to win the Masters?)
*He bogeyed 18 when a simple par would have won, taking Justin Rose off the practice green and onto the 18th tee for a sudden-death play-off. (Advantage Rose, mojo is mojo.)
Rose made a two-putt par on 18 in the playoff. McIlroy had about 40 centimeters to win. On every 40-inch putt at Augusta, especially from above the hole, and especially when short putt is the only hole in your armor, you can make, miss and tap in, you can three putt. Or worse. At 7:16 PM on the Sunday of the 2025 Masters, McIlroy picked at the back of his shirt where the sweat meets the spine, creating a bit of air space there. We were all gasping for air. Brad Faxon, Rory’s putting coach, looking for air. Rory’s parents, Gerry and Rosie, are watching on TV, the same thing. Nantz and Faldo, from the CBS broadcast booth, same thing. Ten thousand paying fans, millions around the world, including South Florida, Northern Ireland, Rochester (where his wife Erica is from), India and China and the UAE and all the other places McIlroy has won, leaning forward, leaning forward, leaning forward.
You weren’t rewinding — between 7:16 PM and 7:16:20 PM when Rory’s hammerhead putter, whale gray and about the size of a hockey puck, began its backswing — but it was somewhere in your mind:
*The 2009 Masters, McIlroy’s first, when he was called by a tournament to assess his play, which he did in a greenside bunker on 18 with his ball still in it. (Ultimately no problem: still a moving experience for a newcomer to a tournament.)
*On Sunday 80 he was in the 2011 Masters after leading by 4 after three rounds.
*The kind that was in there when he had top-10 finishes at Augusta from 2014 through 2018, and then again in 2020 and 2022. Kind of, but not really.
The putt rolled at 7:16:22 and 7:16:23. You could hear a ball marker drop. At 7:16:24 it fell. Rory’s ball fell to the bottom of the hole. Rory himself fell to the ground, the knees of his white pants resting on the green turf of the 18th green. He sucked in air. Rose watched. McIlroy’s caddie, Harry Diamond, looked on. Nantz and Faldo watched. His parents, his wife, their daughter, his fans, his enemies, his employees, his fans in green jackets and his fans all over the world, cheering, stomping, 50ing, hands in the air, because they cared too much. We all cared too much. For ten years we have worried too much. That’s usually a murderer who cares too much. This time that was not the case. Happily ever after is a silver screen myth, 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 arrived at the club in Augusta, Georgia, on a Sunday evening in April. So to speak, we were all there with him.
Michael Bamberger welcomes your comments at Michael.Bamberger@Golf.com
“>
#Rory #McIlroys #fairytale #Masters #victory #resonated #deeply