Rory McIlroy

McIlroy had a huge final round on Sunday and punctuated it with a magical moment at 18.

Incredibly, just moments later, McIlroy's playing partner for Round 4, Collin Morikawa, also holed out from the bunker on No. 18 to finish his own Masters week in style. McIlroy, who began the day 10 strokes back of 54-hole leader and world No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler, punctuated his history-making day with a signature moment by holing out at the par-4 18th from the greenside bunker to get in at 7 under on the week and put a modicum of pressure on eventual Masters champion Scheffler. He finished three strokes off of Scheffler's Masters-winning 10 under and played his way into the $1.62 million prize of finishing as the runner-up.

McIlroy made an incredible birdie on the 18th hole when he holed out from the greenside bunker. When he did that CBS was showing Cam Smith.

When he did that CBS was showing Cam Smith lining up a putt on 13. Here’s what happened: McIlroy made an incredible birdie on the 18th hole when he holed out from the greenside bunker. Well, he was calling the Masters this week and early Sunday evening he completely botched a huge moment for Rory McIlroy and the tournament when he basically spoiled what happened before the viewers could see it.

So what is a Rory fan to think?? Was this inspiring? Was it a sign of things to come, the very beginning of Rory's resurgence, culminating with a 2014-like ...

This is a golf question, but it's also probably a question about what kind of person you are, or want to be, and to what extent your optimism has been obliterated in golf and life. When he comes, we'll shoot out both arms like little zaps of lightning, embracing the weird new move he taught us in that Georgia bunker. That was the start of three brilliant years, and you can't put a neat pin in the Moment When Everything Changed. In 2014, he was a killer in the majors, and a year later, he was not, and he hasn't been since. It didn't—even the leader four-putting on 18 couldn't get him within a country mile of the green jacket. On the side of inspiration/hope/joy, you have the spine-tingling emotions of Sunday. You have the reality of a second-place finish. Notice, will you, that when it kinda/sorta started to seem real right around the 13th hole, he didn't make another birdie on some very gettable holes. The one great horrific choke of his career actually came before his first major, at Augusta, when he shot a Sunday 80 to lose a four-shot lead. Of $*%&*% course Rory shot a 64 in Augusta and made it seem like it almost mattered. His brain is not broken, his physical gifts are extant, and a return to glory should just be a neurochemical or karmic twist away. Does it speak to someone who can be utterly spectacular in a major tournament, right at the exact moment when he can't really win anymore? Try to be a smug-slash-self-pitying neutral observer in the face of such awesome feats: Tony Jacklin, one of Europe's many historical near-analogues for Rory, won the Open Championship in '69 and the U.S. Open in '70, then lost the '72 Open in truly disgusting, heartbreaking fashion when Lee Trevino chipped in on the 17th hole from a losing position.

From Rory's run to an upside-down week, here are some final takeaways from the first major of the year.

The second is that the major championships need to implement podiums like F1. It felt monumental that McIlroy made his Sunday afternoon run and shot the round of the week, and all he has to show for it is a "2" on his Wikipedia page. His appearance there will be must-see, and I low-key hope he gives his body -- which looked worse than I thought it would as he sported a full-on limp by Sunday -- a breather to prep for the last major of the year. Part of that was a wind into players' faces over the first few days, so I'm willing to reserve judgement until next year. That dance with freedom and wisdom and when to apply the two at a Rubik's cube like Augusta National is difficult. Like Scheffler, his ability to score is off the charts, but unlike Scheffler, he doesn't gain as many strokes off the tee. It's a reminder that the best short game among the best ball-strikers, especially for an extended period, can stack a lot of wins in a short amount of time. I don't know the answer to that question, and he might not either, though it will be interesting to discuss for the next 12 months. There is both good and bad to that realization, and McIlroy answered his own question on Tuesday before this tournament started when he said that Augusta National was a place that you need to play conservatively to give yourself a chance. However, there was a raw freedom he played with on Sunday that hopefully encourages more of the same in the future. One horrific memory and one all-time moment to take away from Augusta National for the McIlroy biography, but that it could also be his last meaningful moment at that tournament. Nobody cooks like Rory does, and when you marry that with his aspirational self-awareness and the fact that he's become the voice of the sport in so many ways, he will -- no matter what the scoreboard says -- remain a beacon of hope for fans searching for a thrill. His comments after the round were instructive when he called it "as happy as I've ever been on a golf course right there."

Rory McIlroy has the belief back he can win the clean sweep of Majors after a record-equalling final round to finish runner-up to Scottie Scheffler at the ...

“Given where I was a little over a year ago, to end up here and be able to play all four rounds, even a month ago, I didn’t know if I could pull this off. “I’ve dreamed of having a chance to play this tournament. “I cried like a baby this morning. “I went out there today, shot my best ever score at Augusta and it’s going to be my best finish ever. “This tournament never ceases to amaze me,” he said. I’m walking away from this tournament the happiest I have ever done.”

Rory McIlroy came in second at the golf US Masters 2022 after phenomenal bunker shot on 18th hole ... The Masters Golf Tournament 2022 concluded with Scottie ...

So we ended up reaching out to the GEO Foundation, which does a lot of great sustainability work in golf, to help us go in the right direction.” And I just got this massive sense of guilt coming over me just because this can’t be good (for the environment). However, McIlroy’s greatest highlight on the course was yet to come. The 32-year-old splashed out from the bunker on the right of the green and holed for a birdie. On the 13th hole, McIlroy converted an eagle putt on the par-five, putting him seventh under for the day and on the way to a course record of 63. McIlroy started 10 shots behind first-place Scheffler on the final day and after birdies on the first and third hole, the Northern Irishman’s confidence began to grow.

McIlroy's round of 64 was just one shot off the course record and his second lowest round in any major.

Hope you are in for some success the rest of the 2022 season." His 64 is going to vault him to a big season the rest of the year. I went out there today, shot my best ever score at Augusta and it’s going to be my best finish ever. Take a bow." Another commented: "Well done @McIlroyRory. Great to see you back challenging for the biggies. I’ve been a huge doubter of Rory McIlroy the last two years, even this week.

I don't think it just sets me up for next year, it sets me up for the rest of this year,” said McIlroy after his 64 rocketed him to a runner-up finish in ...

“I think I have believed that I can do whatever in this game. It's just a matter of having that game for four days in a row and not making big numbers and shooting yourself in the foot I guess.” Lowry has been improving his stake each of the last three trips to Augusta since his Open Championship win at Royal Portrush in 2019. And when the No. 1 player in the world comes out to play his best, he is hard to beat.” I made a great up-and-down on 5 and made a great birdie on 6, and that kind of got me going again. I thought maybe I could shoot 6 or 7-under from there, but Scottie (Scheffler) has obviously went down and done his thing, and he is the best player in the world at the moment, and he has come out to play. “I feel like my game has been sort of quietly pretty good without the results to really show for it.

Rory McIlroy vowed to keep trying to win the Masters and complete a career Grand Slam after a thrilling runners-up finish at Augusta National.

"It was just one of those days and Augusta can do that. I went out there today, shot my best ever score at Augusta and it's going to be my best finish ever. "It's what you dream about, right?

After finishing runner-up to Scottie Scheffler at Augusta National, the Northern Irishman hopes the good vibes can help him end his Major drought.

I've just become more and more comfortable with this style of golf, and I think more than anything else, there's a lot more variables in the Open Championship and on links courses. He then didn't return for the 2015 Open because he'd injured himself in a five-a-side match. McIlroy is not a winner at the course, but he loves it. The 2022 edition will head to Southern Hills in Oklahoma and it might not suit. "It just gives me confidence going forward not only into the next Masters next year but to the rest of the season as well. "It was just nice to feel that buzz in a Major championship again. He might need the weather to help out. Scottie was at 10 and that got me to 7 for the tournament and he still had to play… "I thought if I could maybe make two of the next three, that would have got me to 8-under for the tournament and maybe two off the lead. In the end, Scheffler proved just too good for everyone. I didn't know if he was on 12 at that point or whatever it was, but he still had some tricky holes to navigate. That's what my mindset was, to try to birdie two of the next three holes."

Rory McIlroy shot a superb 64 at Augusta National on Sunday evening, as he just missed out on Masters glory, to complete a career Grand Slam.

I went out there today, shot my best ever score at Augusta and it’s going to be my best finish ever. That was an incredible. “It’s what you dream about, right?

Scheffler finished the 2022 Masters 10-under, three shots ahead of Rory McIlroy (-7), who tied a Masters record with a final-round 64.

The work is not done. As it dropped McIlroy pumped his fist, nodded to the crowd and continued on his way. He took the drop and playing his third basically had to use the backstop, hitting the hill behind the green and watching it roll into some fairly thick rough. Woods’ mother Kultida, his daughter Sam, his son Charlie and girlfriend Erica Herman were all at Augusta National on Sunday, but they weren’t down by the green for a celebratory hug. This year, he finished 47th (out of the 52 players who made the cut) with a 13-over 301, taking eight more shots than he ever has to complete a tournament here. What a way to finish. He is one of the hottest players in golf at the moment. Cameron Smith is just fading hard down the stretch here: triple-bogey on 12 and then bogey on 14. A few moments ago when I tried to pat Cam Smith metaphorically on the head and tell him it's going to be OK even if it was really hard to watch him play golf right now ... yeah he went birdie-birdie. That is 21 birdies this week for Scheffler, and four today so far, with three holes to play. I didn’t play my best out there, but just to have the support and appreciation from all the fans, I don’t think words can describe that. He had four birdies on Sunday and 21 for the week to win his first career major championship.

The 2022 Masters is complete, and Scottie Scheffler won by three shots over Rory McIlroy. It was a tense, emotional day, and Morning Read's Jeff Ritter and ...

Ritter and Bassett share stats to place Scheffler's win in some historical context, and Scheffler is indeed in some rarified air already. Is Scheffler here to stay? - Tiger Woods Says He Intends to Play British Open at St. Andrews

American finishes three strokes ahead of Northern Irishman, as Lowry finishes T3.

What a way to finish. 290 Matthew Fitzpatrick (Eng) 71 73 76 70, Tommy Fleetwood (Eng) 75 72 70 73, Talor Gooch 72 74 73 71, Harry Higgs 71 75 73 71, Jason Kokrak 70 76 71 73, Min-Woo Lee (Aus) 73 75 72 70, Hideki Matsuyama (Jpn) 72 69 77 72, Kevin Na 71 71 79 69, Lee Westwood (Eng) 72 74 73 71, Similar stuff, I just didn’t quite get the putter going, but I hit a lot of good stuff today and played the par-5s much better. It was fun. In the case of Séamus Power, victory was never on the cards. It’s like people tell you little things, like 12 has got to be the very exact shot. It’s golf, and sometimes it’s not quite your week, and the putts don’t quite drop, and that’s kind of how it was this week. I’ll come back next year and keep trying,” said the Northern Irishman, nowadays ranked ninth in the world. Not alone did McIlroy claim the outright second place, but Shane Lowry birdied his closing hole for a 69 for 183 that enabled him to finish in tied-third while Séamus Power, in his first appearance in a Major, finished in tied-27th. You dream about getting yourself in position. “It’s what you dream about, right? Not to be for Rory McIlroy, but another glimpse of what is possible.

McIlroy didn't win the 2022 Masters, but he did provide the tournament with its most stunning shot, a magical wedge from a greenside bunker.

The fans gathered around the 18th green leaped to their feet and roared as McIlory walked triumphantly on the green pumping his fist before reaching down to get his ball out of the hole and throw it into the crowd. I went out there today, shot my best-ever score at Augusta and it’s going to be my best finish ever.” It was really cool.” When it disappeared into the cup, McIlroy tossed his club in delight, jumped, raised his arms, ran out of the bunker and hugged his caddie. It’s been a while since I’ve felt that.” But that was not his most notable Masters.

Let's start where he doesn't need any help - his driving. Unsurprisingly, McIlroy topped the driving stats for the week at Augusta National. He averaged 318.5 ...

A left handed golfer, his handicap index is currently 9.8 and he plays at Fulford Heath Golf Club in the West Midlands. His golfing highlight is shooting 76 at Essendon Golf Club on his first ever round with his Golf Monthly colleagues. Dan was a custom fit specialist at American Golf for two years and has brought his expertise in golf equipment to a huge range of buyer's guides and reviews on the website. Dan graduated with a Masters in International Journalism from the University of Sussex and primarily looks after equipment reviews and buyer's guides on the website. All this aside, it was a triumphant round of golf from Rory McIlroy on Sunday. He described it "as happy as I've ever been" on a golf course and it certainly looked that way watching from home. So with his driver and irons clearly dialled in from a distance and accuracy point of view, let's focus in on Rory's short game to see where he can make the vital gains at Augusta. McIlroy found himself T20th on the putting stats for the week. So, while Sunday was a resounding success that McIlroy will be looking to build on, what part of his game wasn't firing on all cylinders on the first three days?

Rory McIlroy finished solo second at the Masters Tournament on Sunday, falling just short of a Green Jacket in his eighth attempt to complete the career ...

“We’re competitors out there, but at the same time we’re friends, and we travel around with each other every week. “I just think all the memories that are building up … I think I’ve had some really good Sundays here from a little further back, and it is about trying to channel whatever attitude that is,” McIlroy said. The reason?

Rory McIlroy's record-equalling final round in the Masters can turn him from Clark Kent into a golfing “Superman”, according to former PGA Tour professional ...

“The only person to beat me this week is the guy that’s currently the best golfer in the world. “It was just nice to feel that buzz in a major championship again. Every now and again it’s nice to have results like this just to reaffirm that what you’re doing are the right things. I feel like my game has been sort of quietly pretty good without the results to really show for it. “There’s no reason he can’t go and complete the grand slam. Former Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley believes McIlroy is more than capable of claiming that elusive Masters title, adding: “We know this is a course that should suit his game.

Rory McIlroy has been dejected enough times when exiting on to Washington Road via Magnolia Lane that he is entitled to savour a sense of harmony after ...

At the end of the day we all have to play 72 holes and the 72nd hole is just as important as the first one. “I’ll have major championships where I’ll start fast and have chances, like the US Open last year and I’ll have things like this Masters where I’ll get off to a slow start. I don’t think it just sets me up for next year at the Masters. It sets me up for the rest of the year. But at the end of the day you still have to bide your time and play your way in. But I’ve always known I have the game to win. “It is nice to get off to good starts and be up the leaderboard early because I feel the earlier you get up there, almost the easier it is to stay there in some ways. He has no competitive experience at Southern Hills, which stages the US PGA Championship next month, but is typically fond of the course setup in that major. The Open Championship at St Andrews, a venue he adores, is on the horizon. “Every now and again it’s nice to have results like this just to reaffirm that what you’re doing are the right things. “I have always admired Rory’s game, it is completely different to mine. That Scheffler four-putted his final hole played a part in that scenario but we had already been served a reminder of the fervour with which people want McIlroy to regain his major-winning touch. Augusta National offered evidence of just how spellbindingly good McIlroy in full flow is to watch.