Rory McIlroy’s long-awaited Masters victory in April made him the first golfer in 25 years to join the sport’s most exclusive club, but Scottie Scheffler’s two-major haul in 2025 raised the possibility that the next career grand slam winner could be just around the corner.
McIlroy, in his 11th attempt to complete the career grand slam, had to endure a topsy-turvy final round at Augusta National where he squandered a four-shot lead but then emerged from a crowded pack to prevail in a sudden-death playoff.
After draining a four-foot birdie putt for the win, the Northern Irishman raised his arms before releasing years of pent-up frustration as he dropped to his knees and began to sob, providing one of the lasting images of the year in golf.
“There wasn’t much joy in that reaction. It was all relief,” McIlroy said after the win. “And then, you know, the joy came pretty soon after that. But that was … a decade-plus of emotion that came out of me there.”
By winning the Masters, McIlroy joined Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as the only men to complete the career grand slam of golf’s four majors.
That elite group could soon have a new member.