The post Major golf gets weird, Caitlin Clark’s Masters review | Monday Finish appeared first on Golf.

The post Major golf gets weird, Caitlin Clark’s Masters review | Monday Finish appeared first on Golf.

Welcome back to the Monday Finish, where we’re writing Scottie Scheffler letters about playing the Zurich together next year. To the news …

Editor’s note: To get the Monday Finish in your email every Monday (plus a magazine subscription and a host of other screaming deals) sign up for InsideGOLF here.

GOLF STUFF I LIKE

Eyes on the prize.

Here are a few things that happened on or around the 18th green in the final hour of play on Sunday at the Chevron, the first women’s major of the year:

–Ariya Jutanugarn, needing birdie to definitely win and par to likely win, whiffed a chip from behind the 18th green and wound up making bogey.

–Haeran Ryu took several minutes to play from the fairway, took an extra club, nuked one into the grandstand, took several more minutes to figure out a drop — and then chipped in for eagle.

-Several pros got up and down from around the grandstand and made birdie to tie the lead.

-Five women finished at 7-under par, setting up a mega-playoff.

–Ronni Yin hit a sensational fairway-wood approach in the playoff, setting up a good look at eagle — and then three-putted.

-Jutanugarn missed a short putt for birdie when it horseshoed around the hole and out.

The last woman standing was Japan’s Mao Saigo, the 23-year-old rising star from Japan, who made birdie to get into the playoff, was the only player to make birdie in the playoff and walked off a winner.

That’s when things went from strange to downright scary. Saigo took the traditional winner’s jump into Poppie’s Pond — but soon was grabbing onto her caddie, Jeffrey Snow, for help.

“I’m not really a good swimmer. When I went inside, it was deep and at first I thought I was going to drown,” she said in her winner’s press conference. Yikes!

Beth Ann Nichols tracked down the details, reinforcing that a good caddie is there for their player when they need it; credit to Snow for going 19 holes on Sunday and pulling off his most crucial carry post-round. Let’s just say we’re impressed with Saigo’s two clutch birdie putts and not dwell too much on what would have been. A warm robe, some drama and a sense of relief — that’s golf stuff I like.

WINNERS

Who won the week?

“This is like dreaming,” Mao Saigo said after her Chevron victory. But that doesn’t mean she’s ready to wake up. “I still have four more majors to go [this year], and I want to shoot for No. 1 in the world,” she said. This was a nice start.

Andrew Novak and Ben Griffin had each been knocking on the door of their first PGA Tour victories; on Sunday they combined for one at the two-man Zurich Classic. “I think for both Andrew and I, it felt like it was only a matter of time out here,” Griffin said post-round. “It means the world to finally get it done. I couldn’t think of a better guy to get it done with than right here with Andrew.”

Joaquin Niemann won LIV Golf’s event in Mexico City; Niemann’s victory was his fifth on LIV, tying Brooks Koepka for the all-time lead. The win earns Niemann a berth in the U.S. Open via LIV’s first official major exemption; it was also the first time his mother has seen him win as a pro.

“As a professional on my tour,” he said. “She hadn’t seen me win on the PGA Tour and not here, either, so yeah, it’s pretty special.”

John Keefer shot 30-under par to win a shootout at the Korn Ferry Tour’s Veritex Bank Championship and continue his climb up the world ranking; he’s now No. 92 despite just one PGA Tour start.

Marco Penge won his first DP World Tour title at the 2025 Hainan Classic, punching a ticket to the PGA Championship thanks to his three-shot victory. “It’s something that I’ve always dreamt of achieving — winning on the biggest stage,” he said.

NOT-WINNERS

But not losers, either.

Ariya Jutanugarn, Ronni Yin, Hyo Joo Kim and Lindy Duncan finished T2 after losing to Saigo’s birdie on the first playoff hole. They were largely positive about their near-miss, particularly Duncan:

“That was the loudest I’ve ever heard on a golf course. The cheering was incredible,” she said of the birdie putt she’d holed on the 18th hole in regulation. “To make a putt like that to get into the playoff, I’ll remember forever.”

The Højgaard twins, Rasmus and Nicolai, finished second in New Orleans just two weeks after they became the first twins to tee it up in the same Masters — and gave a sneak preview of a theoretical Ryder Cup partnership.

“It’s a long time since I really enjoyed a week like this where I could have my bro as my partner and also contend,” Nicolai said post-round. “That was pretty fun again.”

And 17-year-old sensation Blades Brown shot 27 under on the Korn Ferry Tour to finish T2, setting up a fascinating decision matrix where he ended up WD’ing from this week’s PGA Tour event to chase another Korn Ferry Tour start instead as he pursues temporary membership in search of a full-time place to play. Clearly he has the game to belong …

SHORT HITTERS

5 intriguing updates from around the golf world.

1. A decision on the new Tour Championship format could come in the next few weeks, and while starting strokes may be out, match play is unlikely to replace them, per a report from Golfweek’s Adam Schupak.

2. Lexi Thompson’s trip to contention — and eventual T14 finish — highlighted the in-or-out semi-retirement Thompson has been dabbling with the last year or so. Here was our Josh Berhow on the wave of retirements that swept across the LPGA last season.

3. The LPGA Tour’s newly implemented slow-play policy was put to the test on Sunday when its tournament leader’s group was put on the clock. (It was still slow.)

4. In addition to Penge, two pros earned spots at the PGA Championship via the DP World Tour: Keita Nakajima, the Japanese pro and former No. 1 am, and Eugenio Chacarra, the Spanish ex-LIV pro and former Arizona State standout.

5. Oklahoma State sophomore Preston Stout won his second consecutive Big 12 title and did so with the flu — and at a brutal major championship test in Southern Hills.

ONE SWING THOUGHT

Staying positive.

Andrew Novak on his near-misses and how he hasn’t let them get him down:

“I think I’ve done a pretty good job not getting overly frustrated with the close shaves,” he said. “I’ve been trying to take as many positives from each as I can because the idea is I can put myself in that position as many times as I’m able to. I want to get better each time I’m in that position. I want to be more comfortable. I want to have things that I can look back on and improve on. Yeah, it’s frustrating, but it’s also nice going into a tournament knowing you’re playing well.”

RYDER CUP WATCH

Novak watch?!

Novak’s co-victory has him up two spots from No. 11 to No. 9. We saw that he plays well with others and, more importantly, we saw him continue to play well. Griffin also leapt from No. 45 to No. 21 in the standings, just ahead of U.S. captain Keegan Bradley …

On the European side, Rasmus Højgaard reclaimed his No. 3 spot while Nicolai moved up to No. 30 after earning his first significant points of the qualifying period. But with twins and teamwork, you’d have to figure there are some things you can’t measure …

Here are the current top-12s on each side (complete rankings here):

TEAM USA

1. Scottie Scheffler – 14,579 points

2. Xander Schauffele – 11,133

3. Collin Morikawa – 8,586

4. Bryson DeChambeau – 8,190

5. Russell Henley – 7,824

6. Justin Thomas – 7,583

–

7. Mav McNealy – 5,745

8. Brian Harman – 5,714

9. Andrew Novak – 5,588

9. J.J. Spaun – 4,778

10. Patrick Cantlay – 4,329

12. Harris English – 3,714

TEAM EUROPE

1. Rory McIlroy – 2,883 points

2. Tyrrell Hatton – 991

3. Rasmus Højgaard – 982

4. Justin Rose – 870

5. Shane Lowry – 863

6. Ludvig Åberg – 810

–

7. Tommy Fleetwood – 687

8. Thomas Detry – 625

9. Matt Wallace – 572

10. Niklas Norgaard – 554

11. Laurie Canter – 521

12. Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen – 502

ONE THING TO WATCH

Caitlin Clark perfectly summarized the joy of the in-person Masters experience. I found her no-phone takes especially meaningful coming from a 23-year-old — more specifically one of the most photographed 23-year-olds in the world.

NEWS FROM SEATTLE

Monday Finish HQ.

I entered U.S. Open qualifying — with disastrous results. The comeback tour begins tomorrow.

We’ll see you next week!

Dylan Dethier welcomes your comments at dylan_dethier@golf.com.

The post Major golf gets weird, Caitlin Clark’s Masters review | Monday Finish appeared first on Golf.

The post This protein bar helped fuel Rory McIlroy’s 2025 Masters win appeared first on Golf.

The post This protein bar helped fuel Rory McIlroy’s 2025 Masters win appeared first on Golf.

Like many golf fans who are fighting those post-Masters blues, I was rewatching the final round of the 89th Masters the other night when something caught my eye. Before teeing off on the 72nd hole, Rory McIlroy took a bite of a protein bar. To most, it was just a snack. But as someone who knows how razor-thin the margins can be between victory and heartbreak, my curiosity was piqued.

After a quick investigation, I learned McIlroy’s fuel was a Transparent Labs Grass-Fed Protein+ Bar. Why does McIlroy favor this bar for his on-course nutrition? To the ingredients!

The first thing that jumped out was that Transparent Labs focuses on complete nutrition. Each bar includes 15 grams of complete protein, 15-17 grams of healthy fats and wholesome carbohydrates. They’re also packed with grass-fed whey and egg-white protein.

Transparent Labs Grass-Fed Protein+ Bars

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According to Transparent Labs’ website, these two protein sources are among the best for muscle recovery. Grass-fed whey delivers essential amino acids and branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) that support optimal muscle repair and growth. Egg-white protein offers similar benefits, plus B vitamins and selenium — nutrients shown to increase energy, support brain function and even reduce oxidative stress.

In other words, the kind of stuff your body needs when you’re battling it out for the green jacket.

These nutrients don’t just prevent muscle breakdown and boost energy on the course, they also aid in post-round recovery, which means McIlroy can show up Sunday feeling fresh and ready to hit monstrous tee shots.

Transparent Labs also leaves out artificial sweeteners, fillers or dyes, ingredients that typically make protein bars hard to digest. But that doesn’t mean they’ve sacrificed flavor. Instead, they sweeten products naturally by adding ingredients like dates and dairy-free chocolate to create a bar that’s tasty and doesn’t compromise your fitness goals.

If you’re interested in trying out one of Transparent Labs’ protein bars, you can grab a box here or at the link above.

The post This protein bar helped fuel Rory McIlroy’s 2025 Masters win appeared first on Golf.

The post Dahmen’s heartbreak, JT’s surprising advice, caddie intrigue | Monday Finish appeared first on Golf.

The post Dahmen’s heartbreak, JT’s surprising advice, caddie intrigue | Monday Finish appeared first on Golf.

Welcome back to the Monday Finish, where we’re changing caddies — could be the only thing holding us back. To the news…

Ed. note: To get the MF in your email every Monday (plus a magazine subscription and a host of other screaming deals) sign up for InsideGOLF here.

GOLF STUFF I LIKE

Talking us through it.

On Sunday, Joel Dahmen kicked away a PGA Tour event, the Corales Puntacana Championship. He led after the first round. He led after the second round. He led after the third round. He even led after bogeying the 16th hole on Sunday. Then he missed a two-footer for par at No. 17 — and then bogeyed 18 to lose by one. If you’re like me, you were watching anxiously with gritted teeth and a sort of permanent wince; at the Monday Finish we appreciate that golf’s cruelty is part of its beauty but we have a tough time watching it in action.

Still, it was what Dahmen did after that left an even stronger impression: He spoke. It wasn’t a long interview, less than five minutes, but it left a strong impression, making the rounds on social media and serving as an example of why, as an athlete, the moments you most want to skip media may actually be the times you can benefit the most from talking.

I should say that I don’t think Joel was trying to “go viral” or do anything other than what he’s always done: Be honest and be himself. Still, it’s worth focusing for a moment on why people responded to this. Three quick things he accomplished:

1. People respect athletes facing the music. We’ve watched enough sports to know that, after finishing bogey-bogey-bogey, Dahmen probably wanted to crawl into a hole. The fact that he didn’t? And that he didn’t make excuses? We respect that.

“It’s not how you win a golf tournament, I’ll tell you that,” he said. “I don’t deserve to win it. Y’know, bogeying the last three is inexcusable.”

2. It also adds context to the moment. If you’re a golf fan, you want to hear what happened and there’s no better source than Dahmen himself. We already know he’s not superhuman, so pretending to be doesn’t do much good. Let’s get to the interesting stuff instead: Where, in the nerve-wracking psychological test that comes with trying to win the golf tournament, did things go sideways?

Take Dahmen’s explanation of his approach shot into No. 16 as one great example:

“We were fighting with, well, my golf swing, No. 1, for some of it, but we had a good number, we had a good plan,” he said. “We had 8-iron in there. If I could just flight it, it would come up probably just 20 feet short in the middle of the green … Tried to hit it a little harder and smashed it and pull-hooked in the wind. That’s just a nervy shot is what it is. Then you just can’t hit it left of that pin or you’re not going to get it up and down very often from over there.”

3. Most important, an honest explanation puts us in Joel’s shoes. In an alternate timeline where he says nothing and heads to the locker room? It’s an easy storyline: Joel Dahmen chokes. When he talks, though? He takes us into the tournament’s final moments alongside him.

“I don’t know what happened on the short one on 17,” he said. “I mean I’m obviously nervous, but unfortunately I’m prone to that at times. You can call it lapse in concentration. It’s not like a yippy thing, it’s not like one of those things, but — bad time to do it.”

Now instead of “how the hell did he miss that two-foot putt” I hear his explanation and flip to, “Oh, you missed a shortie under insane pressure? Yeah, man — I get it. I have missed that putt with far less on the line.” This is remarkably powerful.

So Dahmen lost the tournament and everything that comes with it. He got a consolation prize, T2, which moves him up 18 spots, to No. 59 in the FedEx Cup standings. And he gained something far less tangible: a whole bunch of people’s respect.

“This one could take a while to get over. It’s one of those things, you learn more in defeat unfortunately,” he said. “I don’t know what I’m going to learn yet. Like I said, I still think I’m in a little bit of shock. Felt like I was in a good head space. I was in a good head space but sometimes your body doesn’t cooperate.”

We learn more about someone in defeat, too, whether it’s Justin Rose at the Masters or Dahmen here. And in each case you can’t help but hope that something more satisfying than defeat is right around the corner.

Staring your heartbreak right in the face — that’s golf stuff I like.

WINNERS

Who won the week?

Justin Thomas broke a winless drought of nearly three years — dating back to the 2022 PGA Championship — when he took out Andrew Novak in a playoff at the RBC Heritage.

“I was nervous, but it was way different kind of nerves today. I felt very calm. I didn’t feel like I was going to win. I didn’t feel like I was going to lose. I was just playing,” Thomas said post-win. It paid off with a lengthy putt in the center of the center and a proper winner’s celebration on 18:

Garrick Higgo won the Corales Puntacana Championship, picking up his second career victory by a single shot over five pros in second place — including Dahmen.

“It’s definitely a bit of a relief but I’ve truly enjoyed the journey of — obviously it was definitely hard to take finishing 135 on the FedEx last year, but like, this is unbelievable and this is why I play the game,” Higgo said.

Sweden’s Ingrid Lindblad picked up her first victory in just her third start as an LPGA Tour member, winning the JM Eagle LA Championship at El Caballero Country Club.

“Just shows that the rookies, I mean, we’re not here to mess around,” she said. “We came out here for a reason, and I think it shows that we’re ready to be out here.”

Neal Shipley won the LECOM Suncoast Classic on the Korn Ferry Tour, making birdie on the fifth playoff hole to finish off the victory. The fan favorite and Netflix star had made just two of seven KFT cuts but had made those count with two top-15s; he really made this one count. Now he’s No. 3 on the tour’s points list — and that much closer to a PGA Tour card for 2026.

Ashun Wu won the DP World Tour’s Volvo China Open for the second time, a particularly meaningful moment because Wu, who is Chinese, also won this event a decade ago — his first of what is now a collection of five DPWT titles.

NOT-WINNERS

But not losers, either.

Andrew Novak’s playoff loss to Thomas was his second consecutive top-three finish and his fourth podium in his last 15 starts. No wins, but plenty of good news: he’s No. 15 in the FedEx Cup and has made $4.3 million this year.

The group at T3 at RBC was interesting, too: Daniel Berger, who hasn’t finished worse than T30 in his last eight starts, Mav McNealy, who’s logged three podium finishes in his last seven starts and Brian Harman, who won two weeks ago and seems to have really found something. All of the above are hoping to be interesting entries in the Ryder Cup conversation. (Also T3: Mackenzie Hughes, with his second consecutive top-10 finish after zero top-20s in nine starts to begin 2025.)

Scottie Scheffler once again contended without his best stuff; keep an eye on his frustration levels (tough to get used to winning and then suddenly not win) but he’s quietly finished 11th or better in six of eight starts this year. He was T8 alongside potential Ryder Cup partner Russell Henley.

On the LPGA Tour, Japanese rookie Akie Iwai finished just one shot outside a playoff when she bogeyed No. 18. And Lauren Coughlin, who grabbed her first win last season and starred at the Solheim Cup, finished T3 as she continued her climb up the Rolex Rankings. (She’s up to No. 8.)

And watch out for Eugenio Chacarra, the ex-LIV pro who has been playing the DP World Tour, won the Hero Indian Open and just finished T4 in China.

SHORT HITTERS

5 intriguing updates from around the golf world.

1. Caddie controversy? Nah, says the PGA Tour’s latest, greatest winner. Even though Thomas won in Hilton Head with Joe Greiner in his second week as fill-in, J.T. reiterated on SiriusXM Monday that he’ll be back to work with Matt “Rev” Minister once he’s healthy. We don’t know what’s next for Greiner, who was most recently on Max Homa’s bag for several successful seasons. But we know he seems to be damn good at what he does.

2. Y’know how Pinehurst just opened No. 10? Well, now No. 11 is on the way — designed by the legendary duo of Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw.

3. More people watched Rory McIlroy’s Masters win than any playing since Patrick Reed’s 2018 victory. The CBS final-round broadcast averaged 12.7 million viewers and peaked at nearly 20 million. (More here.)

4. Ben Crane hasn’t been playing much PGA Tour golf of late but his Corales Puntacana appearance ended in misery when he was DQ’d for playing the wrong ball.

5. Legendary longtime amateur Jay Sigel — who won five USGA championships, third behind only Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods — died at 81.

ONE DUMB GRAPHIC

ONE SWING THOUGHT

Pros helping pros.

Justin Thomas turned to an interesting — but undeniably authoritative and effective — source for help on his putting: Xander Schauffele.

“I called Xander at the end of last year because I think he’s one of the best putters in fundamentals and not just putting but everything and I was just like, ‘Can I just pick your brain for like two or three hours, just talk to you about putting?'” Thomas said post-win on Sunday.

“The more [we were] talking, I’m like, ‘I don’t do any of the things that I used to do in my best putting years.’ In 2017-18, I was very, very regimented in the things that I did, and how he said it is I had a home base and then I had no home base. I had things that I did, but it was a very vague bag of things and there was no consistency to it.

“I feel like I used to have a very good home base of fundamentals and things that I did.”

Thomas seems to have a home base again. He leads the Tour in putting average and he’s up to No. 24 in strokes gained putting, his best number in years and a massive improvement from 174th in the same category last year.

For his part, Schauffele downplayed his contributions.

“I don’t think I really have anything to do with him winning. He maybe gave me too much credit,” he said on a PGA conference call Monday.

“When I’m in town [in South Florida], J.T. is a very familiar face that I compete against. It’s one of the ways us folks here in Jupiter like to sharpen up before a tournament.”

RYDER CUP WATCH

We have another confirmed American.

Justin Thomas’ win — plus his celebration — seemed like the only reminder we really needed that he’ll be on this U.S. squad. The Americans’ current top six seem like near-locks (Henley probably the only question mark, though I expect he’ll be there) but after that it feels like a wide-open race.

On the European side, Viktor Hovland’s T13 was enough to jump him inside the top 12, where we expect he’ll stay. Justin Rose at No. 3 still jumps out as whoa, he’s doing this again, huh?

Here are the current top-12s on each side (complete rankings here):

TEAM USA

1. Scottie Scheffler – 14579 points

2. Xander Schauffele – 11133

3. Collin Morikawa – 8586

4. Bryson DeChambeau – 8190

5. Russell Henley – 7824

6. Justin Thomas – 7583

–

7. Mav McNealy – 5745

8. Brian Harman – 5714

9. J.J. Spaun – 4778

10. Patrick Cantlay – 4329

11. Andrew Novak – 4258

12. Harris English – 3714

TEAM EUROPE

1. Rory McIlroy – 2864 points

2. Tyrrell Hatton – 991

3. Justin Rose – 870

4. Rasmus Højgaard – 870

5. Shane Lowry – 844

6. Ludvig Åberg – 810

–

7. Tommy Fleetwood – 687

8. Thomas Detry – 620

9. Matt Wallace – 572

10. Niklas Norgaard – 554

11. Laurie Canter – 521

12. Viktor Hovland – 486

ONE THING TO WATCH

Ludvig Åberg on the differences between Swedish and American golf culture:

You can watch the full interview with Ludvig here.

NEWS FROM SEATTLE

Monday Finish HQ.

Mostly sunny but with intermittent showers means one thing: mudball season. But if that’s good enough for Augusta National, it’s plenty good enough for me at the munis. Plus sunrise has already boomeranged up to 6:06 a.m., which has me dreaming of a whole new world of early-morning tee times ahead…

We’ll see you next week!

Dylan Dethier welcomes your comments at dylan_dethier@golf.com.

The post Dahmen’s heartbreak, JT’s surprising advice, caddie intrigue | Monday Finish appeared first on Golf.

The post 10 bits of Masters drama you might have missed | Monday Finish appeared first on Golf.

The post 10 bits of Masters drama you might have missed | Monday Finish appeared first on Golf.

Welcome back to the Monday Finish, where we’ve decided to take up base-jumping — need a less stressful hobby than watching golf. To the news…

MASTERS DRAMA

Odds and ends from Augusta National.

If you stress-watched Rory McIlroy’s chase for the Grand Slam, you were probably too strung out to register anything else going on at the Masters. So let’s circle back with these 10 intriguing subplots, side quests, what-ifs, mini-dramas and random factoids from the weekend’s action:

1. Patrick Reed could have thrown us a real curveball.

Remember when they cut to Reed on the green at No. 13, staring down a three-footer for birdie? When he missed the birdie putt — and missed the comebacker, too, leading to a painful and unlikely bogey? That might have been a very, very big deal. Look, every player in the field threw away shots throughout the week. But these were two freebies, wasted with just six holes to go. Just a few minutes later McIlroy would play the hole behind Reed and deposit his third in the stream short of the 13th green en route to double bogey, bringing the entire field back into the mix in the process.

A little while later, Reed did the improbable at No. 17, holing his approach shot for an eagle 2 to get to 9 under par, which is where he finished — two shots outside the playoff. Can you imagine if that hole-out had gotten him to 11 under instead?!

What could have been…

Still, Reed earned the second podium of his Augusta National career, and it’s worth noting Reed’s string of high finishes at Augusta National. He won in 2018 and has five top-12s in the seven years since; his run of T36-T10-T8-T35-T4-T12-3 means he should be on our radar every spring for years to come.

2. Two surprise Low Lefties.

Entering the week you would have likely picked Bob MacIntyre or Akshay Bhatia to go lowest of the tournament-record eight left-handed golfers. Or perhaps Brian Harman, coming off a victory, or Phil Mickelson, showing some form in the lead-up to his favorite tournament.

How’d those guys do? Harman finished T36. Bhatia finished T42. MacIntyre and Mickelson missed the cut. And your low lefties were instead Bubba Watson, who has cracked the top 10 just once in his LIV career, and Matt McCarty, playing in his second career major. They finished T14. Good on ’em both.

3. Ludvig Åberg lost a boatload at the end.

When Ludvig Åberg walked to the 17th tee at 10 under par it felt like he could still win the golf tournament. At risk of spoiler: he didn’t. Instead he made bogey at 17 and then, after finding the fairway bunker at 18, tried to get aggressive and got ejected instead. What turned into a triple bogey sent him from solo third to solo seventh, costing himself just north of $700,000.

What’s the point? These guys play for a lot of money, for one thing. Late misses have consequences.

But it was also a pretty clear sign that Åberg wasn’t content with another near-miss. Forget the money — he made $4 million by winning the Genesis. He wanted that jacket and, for a moment, he could probably picture slipping it on. Even though the final leaderboard won’t make it look that close.

4. Shane Lowry rebounded for his buddy.

If you saw Shane Lowry early in his final round, 1 under through two holes and just four back of the lead, and then you saw him again greeting McIlroy with a wide grin and a massive hug, you would have fairly assumed that he’d had a proper golf day and finished near his mate atop the board. In reality his day turned to misery; he somehow piled up seven bogeys and two doubles en route to 81 and slipped to T42.

Anybody who has ever played a bad round of golf knows how tough it can be to shake off, but when one of your closest friends in the world is on the brink of a Grand Slam you have to rise to the occasion. Credit to Lowry for doing just that…

5. Xander Schauffele’s streak continues.

You likely remember that Xander Schauffele won two majors last year. What you may not know is that his Sunday 71 moved him up to T8, his fifth consecutive major finish of eighth or better and his 12th (!) consecutive major top-20. The last time he finished worse than T18 at a major was the 2022 Masters. That was also the last time he missed a cut.

6. Max Homa earned a return visit.

Hopefully this week was a sign of things to come for Max Homa, who had not made the weekend at a tournament with a cut since last year’s Open Championship and had slid outside the top 80. After rallying Friday to make the cut he kept climbing with a 69-71 weekend to finish T12 — just inside the top-12 threshold that guarantees an invite back for next year.

7. Justin Rose and Zach Johnson converged — for a moment.

Heading to the weekend Justin Rose was the solo leader while Zach Johnson was tied for last place of guys who’d made the cut. But then Johnson’s surprise 66 on Saturday shot him up the leaderboard. When Rose fired 75, the two 40-something major champs had played their way into the same final-round pairing. Johnson actually played quite well; his 71 left him T8, his best result at a major since the 2020 U.S. Open. But Rose’s 66 nearly won him the golf tournament.

8. Hideki proved you can do it all.

On Saturday Hideki Matsuyama shot the highest score in the field, a seven-over 79. Sunday? He tied Rose for the low round of the day, shooting six-under 66. Get you a man who can do both. He finished T21.

9. Rory McIlroy’s 15th-hole iron shot went much better this time.

You’ll recall that the beginning of McIlroy’s undoing at last year’s U.S. Open came when he flushed an iron over the back of the par-3 15th green. The consensus was that it was a well-struck shot — it was just the wrong shot, or at least wrong club for the moment. This time around? McIlroy hit one of the most spectacular shots in Masters history, sending a high, slinging 7-iron to six feet with his second shot at the par-5. (Even though he missed the eagle putt.) That’s year-over-year improvement.

10. …and he didn’t say much to DeChambeau.

DeChambeau was asked in his press conference — post-round, though pre-playoff — how he thought McIlroy was doing.

“No idea,” he said. “Didn’t talk to me once all day.”

How was the atmosphere?

“Electric. I loved it. But he was just like — just being focused, I guess. It’s not me, though.”

I don’t think there’s necessarily animosity between these two. McIlroy spoke glowingly about DeChambeau in the months following the U.S. Open last year, praising him as a worthy competitor as well as a needle-mover. DeChambeau said he felt for McIlroy mid-meltdown on No. 13, too.

“I wanted to cry for him,” he said.

But I do think there’s a fierce, healthy, game-recognize-game on-course rivalry now officially underway. DeChambeau won the U.S. Open, crushing McIlroy’s dreams. Now McIlroy’s won the Masters while playing alongside DeChambeau. Will the next chapter come at Quail Hollow? Oakmont? Augusta National?

RYDER CUP WATCH

Big-time Masters moves.

On the U.S. side, a couple familiar faces made big moves — Jordan Spieth‘s T14 jumped him from No. 43 to No. 32 and Homa’s T12 took him from No. 36 to No. 23 — but another familiar face outdid them. Reed, one-time partner to Spieth, zipped up 53 spots to No. 20.

DeChambeau moved up a spot to No. 4; I’d consider him an unofficial lock alongside Nos. 1-3: Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele and Collin Morikawa.

Team Europe’s core got a shakeup in the form of a familiar face, too: Rose leapt from No. 28 to No. 4. The Englishman represented the old guard in Italy in 2023, which felt like it could be his swan song. But if he can bottle up some more of what he felt this week, they’ll be glad to have him back for Bethpage.

ONE THING TO WATCH

Sahith rooting for Rory.

Something extremely cool and relatable about Sahith Theegala rooting this hard for McIlroy — you can feel his pain after the first miss and you can feel his joy a minute later.

NEWS FROM SEATTLE

Monday Finish HQ.

I’m headed back to Seattle as I type this, but there were doses of Seattle in Augusta, too. I’m feeling appreciative for the first round we got from Fred Couples, though still a little heartbroken he missed the cut. Other Washingtonians in action at the Masters included Joe Highsmith, who missed the cut, and Greg Bodine, who caddies for DeChambeau. I also ran into three local golf course general managers by the 13th hole — no doubt ready to bring a little Augusta National influence to Seattle’s munis. The cool thing about golf is that you can love ANGC and West Seattle Golf Course. Let’s get out there, folks.

We’ll see you next week!

Dylan Dethier welcomes your comments at dylan_dethier@golf.com.

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AUGUSTA, Ga. — IN THE 27 JUBILANT MINUTES THAT RORY MCILROY took questions from reporters at Sunday’s Masters winner’s press conference, grinning from the podium in his freshly pressed, newly acquired, hard-won green jacket, only one subject brought him to tears.

“He’s been like a big brother to me the whole way through my life,” McIlroy said.

And then he broke down.

McIlroy’s Masters win was intensely meaningful for several obvious reasons. Because it ended a major championship drought of a decade-plus. Because it’s the biggest tournament in the world, and he’d never won it, even though 14 years ago he’d blown a four-stroke final-round lead in horrifying fashion. Because it completed his quest for the career Grand Slam, a feat only Tiger Woods had accomplished in the last half-century. And because it came at the end of an exhausting 19-hole Sunday, which came at the end of a rollercoaster week, which came at the end of a frustrating, futile stretch of nearly 4,000 days.

But it was also meaningful because a win for McIlroy meant a win for the silent, mysterious, much-maligned man beside him.

The moment McIlroy’s final birdie putt fell, clinching victory on his 73rd hole of the week, he later admitted he felt no joy — just relief. That was a small piece of a larger admission: that it’s been hard to be Rory McIlroy, given the weight of expectations. Several times he mentioned the word burden, acknowledging that his had grown weightier with every missed opportunity. And he shouted out the man who has, for most of that stretch, been there to help shoulder the load, the man he hugged first when the final putt fell. After all, who better than a caddie to help carry a golfer’s burden?

“I’ve known Harry since I was seven years old,” McIlroy said. “We’ve had so many good times together.”

In the decade-plus since McIlroy’s last major championship win, throughout a drought defined by increasingly heartbreaking close calls, fans and critics have searched for something or someone upon whom to pin the blame. That has meant plenty of second-guessing of everything from his coaches to his mindset to his pre-tournament preparation. It has also meant plenty of ammo fired in the direction of Harry Diamond, who has served as McIlroy’s caddie and right-hand man since 2017.

Before this week, whenever McIlroy had been asked about Diamond and the fact that they’d never won a major together, he’d given a variation of the same two-word answer: everything but. They’d won Players Championships. They’d racked up PGA Tour victories. They’d won FedEx Cups and Races to Dubai. They’d won Ryder Cups. They’d reached World No. 1. And they’d come as close as you can to winning major championships without actually winning a major championship.

Everything but.

Still, because the majors are what really, truly matter, the criticism poured in, most of it speculative, largely centered on the fact that their friendship could inhibit their professional relationship in pivotal moments. It’s true that they are friends; that bit is understated, if anything. McIlroy recounted again on Sunday their first-ever meeting, which came when he was a seven-year-old on the putting green at Holywood Golf Club in Northern Ireland. Diamond was a player, too, when he first met McIlroy and for many years after; he represented Ireland multiple times as a junior and later won the prestigious 2012 West of Ireland amateur. This was hardly just a buddy off the couch.

THERE WAS A MOMENT BEHIND AUGUSTA NATIONAL’S CLUBHOUSE on Sunday where Diamond proved his mettle. McIlroy had faced a five-footer for the win on the 18th hole in regulation and, when he’d missed, made a shell-shocked walk to scoring, his mind a whir. But as the two were preparing to load onto a cart and head back to the 18th tee for the first sudden-death playoff hole, Diamond spoke up.

“He said to me, ‘Well, pal, we would have taken this on Monday morning,'” McIlroy recounted in the presser. “I’m like, ‘Yeah, absolutely we would have.’ That was an easy reset. He basically said to me, ‘Look, you would have given your right arm to be in a playoff at the start of the week.’ So that reframed it a little bit for me.”

The rest was history.

WE KNOW WHAT MCILROY THOUGHT OF IT ALL. He gave a post-round interview, and then a winner’s speech, and then a victory press conference. And in that presser came a not-so-subtle shot at the Diamond doubters.

“To be able to share this with him after all the close calls that we’ve had, all the crap that he’s had to take from people that don’t know anything about the game, yeah, this one is just as much his as it is mine,” McIlroy said.

But what did Diamond make of it all? That’ll require a bit more guesswork. He doesn’t do interviews and isn’t even active on social media, keen to stay as far as he can from the center of the story. He’s done remarkably well in that regard; McIlroy is the most-scrutinized golfer of his generation but the general public has likely never heard Diamond speak. Still, surely he’d make an exception on a Grand Slam Sunday?

A request went in from assembled reporters as McIlroy’s win became official: Diamond politely declined. Golf Channel approached him for an interview a short while later; he declined that, too. For the first time that I can remember, we heard nothing from the winning caddie, who stuck to the original caddie creed — show up, keep up, shut up — even with victory safely secured.

As revelers reluctantly filed from the course and night fell and McIlroy finished up his press availability, I wandered over to Augusta National’s caddie house, where Diamond was collecting his things. I didn’t really expect an on-the-record interview, but I figured it was worth an ask; at the very least it would be a chance to offer earnest, in-person congratulations, and perhaps there was even something he wanted to say about his friend-slash-boss and their three-decade journey.

As I waited for the champion caddie to emerge I took a seat in the bleachers at the edge of Augusta National’s practice area, illuminated but empty, just a few yards from the space where Diamond and McIlroy had warmed up some seven hours and an entire lifetime before. It was still now. It was quiet. With no phone to distract me I stared into the night and ran through what I’d just seen and settled on one clear thought:

This changes all of it.

Those Players Championships? Those FedEx Cup wins? Those ascensions to World No. 1? They’re shinier, fuller, more impressive in the context of a Masters win. For years every McIlroy PGA Tour victory came with a subtext of yeah, but can he win the big one; now those are feathers in his cap, impressive entries in the best golf resume of the post-Tiger era. Every close call of the past decade now looks like a step on the stairway to Sunday’s ultimate satisfaction. Winning takes care of everything.

I sat for 10 minutes, then 15, then 20, replaying the shots of the day: the devastating double bogey at 1 and the remarkable bounce-back birdie at 3 and the toggle between triumph and tragedy that continued the rest of the round, exhausting and exhilarating a crowd cheering for history and dreading a devastating collapse. I wondered how it had looked and felt to Diamond, the wildest day in major memory. And then I realized that Diamond was gone. He must have left from a different exit and shuttled away into the night, off to join the fun.

Everything but? That’s a thing of the past. McIlroy and Diamond have won everything, period.

Plus whatever’s next.

Dylan Dethier welcomes your comments at dylan_dethier@golf.com.

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AUGUSTA, Ga. — Shane Lowry couldn’t bear to watch.

As his childhood friend and longtime Ryder Cup stablemate, Rory McIlroy, was scratching and clawing his way to the green jacket Sunday evening — a coveted prize that had eluded him in 16 previous attempts, some in heart-wrenching fashion — Lowry was watching the CBS telecast on a TV in the clubhouse grill room. The burly Irishman had just wrapped his own final round, posting a disheartening 81 that sent him careening down the leaderboard. He surely must have felt like darting to the tarmac, but he wasn’t about to skip out on this historic moment.

As McIlroy, who also was in pursuit of the career Grand Slam, was making his way up the 18th fairway with a one-shot lead over Justin Rose, Lowry settled into a club chair near the front of the room. He joined a table with Tommy Fleetwood and his family, next to a display case that houses more than two dozen clubs from Masters champions past.

Fleetwood himself looked anxious as he peered up at the monitor set into the wall — he had two dogs in the fight, McIlroy and Fleetwood’s fellow Englishman, Rose — but Lowry was fully unnerved. When McIlroy dumped his approach into the bunker right of the green, the room groaned, and Lowry and Fleetwood simultaneously threw their hands into the air. The misplay left McIlroy with 18 yards between his ball and the hole. Up-and-down for immortality.

As McIlroy dug his feet into the sand to steady his stance, Fleetwood remained optimistic. “He’s gonna hit it to 2 feet,” he said to his tablemates.  

For Lowry, though, the tension was too much. He leaned over the table and buried his face in his hands.

When McIlroy finally played the shot — a chunk-and-run from the gleaming sand — Lowry’s face had emerged. He looked up at the screen and barked, “Go! Go! Go!” The ball went, on a perfect line, but pulled up 5 feet short of its mark.

Five feet.

Under most circumstances, that length is all but a gimme for the world’s best golfers, but, of course, nothing is automatic when the weight of history — and an 11-year major drought — rests upon your shoulders.

Lowry was fidgety. He wanted to watch elsewhere. By the time McIlroy was sizing up his decisive par putt, Lowry had exited the grill room, but he didn’t get far. After stepping outside, he stopped, wheeled around and resumed watching the telecast through the grill room window. A club member and couple of other loiterers were also watching from this vantage point, providing an ear for Lowry’s nervous commentary.

“This is about the same length putt he missed at the U.S. Open,” Lowry said, referencing the make-or-break 4-footer McIlroy missed at Pinehurst No. 2 last summer.

On Augusta National’s 18th green, you know what happened next.

McIlroy rocked back his putter, struck the ball…and missed.

***

IT’S ONE THING TO observe the Rory McIlroy Experience from afar, but quite another when you’re in his circle of trust.

Lowry and McIlroy’s relationship was forged more than two decades ago on Ireland’s junior golf circuit. McIlroy’s star ascended faster, but Lowry, a dogged competitor, worked hard to keep up. As elite professionals, they’ve traveled the world together and battled as teammates in international team events. At home — they live near one another in Jupiter, Fla. — their families pal around together. When McIlroy and Patrick Cantlay’s caddie, Joe LaCava, heatedly chirped one another at the 2023 Ryder Cup in Italy, Lowry leapt to McIlroy’s defense. Lowry has since said he feels protective of his friend. McIlroy, meanwhile, has said he has taken much inspiration from the “ease” with which Lowry leads his life. Both have said they are good for one another.

Lowry also has been a welcome sounding board for McIlroy, especially when it has come to the maddening elusiveness of a Masters title. “It’s all he talks about, it’s all he thinks about,” Lowry told reporters Sunday evening in the shadows of the clubhouse. “You know, he might not have wanted to say that, but it’s genuinely been everything for him over the last 10 years.”

With the emerald coat over his shoulders Sunday night, McIlroy reflected on his most infamous Masters collapse, in 2011, explaining he didn’t really know know himself then. He described himself as a “young man that didn’t really know a whole lot about the world,” adding, “I didn’t understand why I got myself in a great position, and I probably didn’t understand why I let it slip in a way.”

His win Sunday looked like it might slip away again. After the double at 1. Then again after the unconscionable wedge into Rae’s Creek on 13. Then again after the sloppy bogey on 18 in regulation. But this time, McIlroy, as he had failed to do so many times before, reversed the gravitational pull.

“I certainly didn’t make it easy,” he said. “It was one of the toughest days I’ve ever had on the golf course.”

***

WHEN MCILROY AND ROSE convened on the 18th tee for the playoff, the clubhouse grill room was still packed. Lowry was nowhere to be seen but green-coated members, corporate bigwigs and the Fleetwood gang still filled the chairs — though they wouldn’t for long. When Rose missed his birdie try from 19 feet on the high side, it cleared the stage for McIlroy, who had just 4 feet left for glory. This time, he converted. When the ball disappeared, he fell to his knees and his body pulsated. “ROAR-EE! ROAR-EE!” the crowds bellowed.

The exorcism was fully underway. The tee shot into the cabins in 2011; the Sunday final-pairing 74 in 2018; the missed cuts in 2021 and ’23 — if you looked closely, you could see every last one of those demons exiting McIlroy’s body. When the ritual had concluded, McIlroy began the victor’s walk from the back of the 18th green across the first fairway and to the area of the clubhouse designated for scoring, a 100-or-so-yard stroll through a roped-off channel of hollering, adoring patrons.     

Awaiting McIlroy on the other end was a line of beaming friends, coaches and confidants — and a bear of a golfer who couldn’t wait to wrap his arms around his old friend. In fact, he was the first to do so. As McIlroy neared the cadre of well-wishers, Lowry charged toward him and lifted him clear off the ground, like a soldier greeting his wife upon returning from war. It was a hug 14 years in the making, and you sensed it meant every bit as much to Lowry as it did to the new champion.

“I didn’t have a very good day myself,” Lowry said later of a round that sent him from sixth place at the start of the day to 42nd. “But when I reflect, this is another good example of no matter how tough things get, you keep trying.”

And trying. And trying. And…

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AUGUSTA, Ga. — Jay Monahan was working the lawn. A handshake here. A hug there. He laughed with Guy Killings, the DP World Tour commish. He patted the shoulder of a green-jacketed Augusta National member. Minutes earlier, the face of the league Monahan heads had hit his first ball of the Masters’ final round as part of the final pairing. The sky and the mood were aligned: Both were sunny. 

As were the vibes all around the yard. Rory McIlroy has a way of doing that for his folks, of which there are countless. This was their day. Their man, holding a two-shot advantage with 18 holes left on the clock, was on the cusp of winning his first major since 2014. Their man was on the brink of winning his first Masters. Their man was four or so hours away from completing the career Grand Slam. 

Actually, we need rewrite.

Their man, holding a two-shot advantage with 18 holes left on the clock, was on the cusp of winning his first major since 2014, after many mishits and missed putts. Their man was on the brink of winning his first Masters, after many also-rans and see-you-next-years. Their man was four or so hours away from completing the career Grand Slam, after years of whiffing. 

McIlroy is a curious character that way, as his story creates a funky polarity. How can someone so blessed be so damned cursed? To his faithful, it keeps Pepto-Bismol in business. His success is sublime. And his defeats are like a swift kick to the golf bag. 

But why? He’s certainly not alone. But the dynamic somehow seems one of one. 

I asked Monahan, as McIlroy was either going to reward the faithful, or again rob them blind. 

“I just think because it’s one of his superpowers and one of the things fans gravitate to is his transparency,” the PGA Tour commissioner said, “and his career has been something that people have had the opportunity to experience along the way. He’s been pretty forthright as it relates to his feelings. There are highs and there are lows, and he’s demonstrated a vulnerability that is unique and that people can relate to. To do that as a great champion is pretty unique.”

How unique?

“I think that’s something you’re probably seeing less of.”

About 400 yards away, McIlroy three-putted the 1st green, and his lead was gone via a double bogey. 

On 2, he trailed by a shot. On 3, he led again, after a birdie and a Bryson DeChambeau bogey. After 4, he led by three, after another birdie-bogey exchange. “This is sick,” one patron shouted. “Come on, Rory, Grand Slam, baby,” another cried. 

For the 40 or thousand fans here, and the 25k or so tracking McIlroy, this was going to be extreme. 

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But again, bogeys come and birdies go. Why did this run feel so fatiguing? Why does McIlroy?

“For me, I’m Irish descent,” said Will of Las Vegas, along the 5th fairway. “So for me, it’s kind of a DNA thing. But, also, it’s the elusive fourth major for him. And I’m a golf nut, so I just want him to get the green jacket. He’s earned the right. And then he stood up for the PGA Tour. 

“And that means a lot for me.”

After nine, after 63 of 72 holes, McIlroy was up four. 

Finally. Or, maybe at this point, seemingly never, should he fail. 

But again, leads are precarious. Why did this feel so haunting? Why does McIlroy?

“I think since Tiger has fallen off from his heights, he’s just captured the imagination of golfers like no other golfer,” said George of England via Jamaica. “And also, he’s really personable. I can relate to him. I don’t know him, and I’m not Irish. But for a boy born in Jamaica, living now in England who found golf after I stopped playing football, he’s appeared to be across cultures.

“And because he shows emotion; he wears it on his sleeve. He lets you know as a fan how he feels when he plays, when the man doesn’t play well. And, for all those reasons, I think he deserves to finish his career without people telling him about what happened at the Masters before. So for all those reasons, I think that’s the reason why it’s going to feel so low because we have been here as fans so often, you know. 

“He has to win and shut people up.”

McIlroy birdied 10, his previous house of horrors, after hitting near a house in 2011, when he was seemingly then on his way to winning.  

Eight more holes. 

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And eight more holes?! 

“I think with how close that he’s been and how so many people are invested in him and the expectations that he’s had,” said Paul of Savannah, Ga., “he’s like Icarus who almost touched the sun. Got too close to the sun too early in his career. Came falling back to Earth and has been trying to resurrect himself back to that status. 

“And we are all along for that ride. And so we’re riding with him, and we just wanna see him achieve it.”

“I think we grew up with Rory,” said Paul’s friend, Patrick, also of Savannah, “and we’ve seen him rise to astronomical heights. He had all of these lofty expectations, unfairly or otherwise. And the fact that he struggled so much and been so close so many times, coupled with the fact that I think he knows deep down that he’s been the best player in the world every year — so to see him do that, to struggle, to wear his heart on his sleeve, I think any person can relate to that.

“It’ll be cathartic for everyone, too, to see him win. It’s like a release of like, thank god, that it’s happened.”

And then came a “good lord.”

Bogey on 11, and the lead shrunk. Double on 13 — after a short wedge into Rae’s Creek, a near-incomprehensible mistake — and a surging Justin Rose soon tied him. “Rory is the biggest choke,” one patron said to the right of the 13th fairway. Another bogey on 14, and the lead was gone. “If he doesn’t do it this year, he never will,” one patron said to the left of the 14th green. 

But four holes remained.

And only four. 

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“I think people would be higher than high because it’s the pure elation after what he’s gone through after all of the near-misses the past few years,” said Sawyer of West Palm Beach, Fla. “Especially at last year’s U.S. Open. I think it’s still seared in everyone’s memory. So this would be the true turnaround, if you will. 

“And to lose, though — it feels like nothing could have been worse than a loss at the U.S. Open. And now everyone’s heart would pop.”

Hold on, McIlroy friends. 

He birdied the par-5 15th and now re-led by a shot, though an eagle putt looked nervy. “I knew it, I knew it,” one patron screamed. On 16, McIlroy was tied again, after a Rose birdie ahead — but on 17, McIlroy re-took the lead after a stunning approach to a few feet. “You’re going to look so good in green, Rory,” one patron bellowed. 

One more hole. 

And. One. More. Hole. 

There, McIlroy bogeyed after hitting his second into a right greenside bunker. “Holy sh*t, he missed it,” cried a patron after his 6-footer for par breezed past the hole on the left side. 

Playoff. 

Why is this really, truly going to be either the sublime, or the swift kick?

“Why is that?” said a patron behind the 18th green. “Because he’s won so much, and he’s a great champion, but he’s choked a lot too. So you’re fearful of the choke that’s coming.”

And then it didn’t. 

On 18, drive down the chute. Iron to the middle of the green, where it rolled back to 4 feet. Birdie putt in the hole. 

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Winner. 

Winner?

Winner!

His arms went up. The patrons arms’ went up. “The golf gods have spoken,” one said. 

How you feeling, Mark of London?

“Well, Rory never does anything other than a roller coaster ride,” he said near 18.

“So you never get the joy of just something being plain and simple. It’s gotta be earned, not just by him, but by the crowd. So you feel every emotion going through. So great that he won. We’re delighted with it.

“But let’s make it easier next time.”

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AUGUSTA, Ga. — I’m not saying this is professional, because it’s not. And I’m not saying this odd act reveals my rooting interest, because it doesn’t. But as Bryson DeChambeau made his uphill way from the ninth green to the tenth tee, I stuck my hand out for some skin from the reigning U.S. Open champion, just like everybody else who lined the parade route that leads the players to Augusta National’s back nine and the celebrated start of the tournament.

Two hours earlier, DeChambeau was on the driving range. He was the only player on it. It was 2:21 p.m. and he was bombing drivers with his caddie behind him and his swing coach beside him, a cellphone on a stand pointed at this beef-made man.

It was an unnerving experience, watching him. His tee time was in the day’s final twosome. He was paired with the only guy ahead of him, Rory McIlroy, who slept on a two-stroke, 54-hole lead. That tee time was set to start in nine — now eight! — minutes. DeChambeau was about 300 yards away from the first tee, a journey he would make on foot, through a crowd. There was an odd, U-shaped gold horseshoe above the heel of his golf shoes. He hit a final drive, followed by a final 3-wood.

Whew. As Elvis left music halls, Bryson was leaving this range. It appeared he would make it to the tee on time. What a relief.

And then he stopped and signed autographs. A dozen or more. He high-fived, low-fived, bumped fists with fans young and otherwise.

NO!

There was a manic energy coming off the man. That has been the case for years now. Remember the Saturday-night driving-range session at Winged Foot, on the eve of his 2020 U.S. Open win? Like that. But there’s no clock on an evening range session. Here the clock was ticking loudly.

The last kid DeChambeau encountered as he left the range was an eighth grader from Mobile, Ala., named Peter Muller. They low-fived.

“What does that tell you about Bryson?” I asked young Peter, that he was taking in the fans before this date with destiny.

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“It tells me Bryson’s going to win today,” the kid said with an unexpected, almost world-weary tone.

Before long, the boy sounded more prescient than Johnny Miller in his broadcasting prime. DeChambeau took a one-shot lead in the tournament after a par-birdie start, while McIlroy opened with a double bogey followed by a par. DeChambeau was 11 under par. If he could have played from there to the house in even par, he would have been in the Justin Rose-Rory McIlroy playoff. That, of course, did not happen.

When the two European Ryder Cuppers were going off to play in their two-man playoff, DeChambeau was talking to reporters about his Sunday 75. His annoyance with McIlroy was (if you can trust my reading of his tone) obvious. Asked about McIlroy’s mood in the scorer’s room at the end of their Sunday round, DeChambeau said: “No idea. He didn’t talk to me once all day.”

Asked what their on-course rapport was like, DeChambeau said, “He wouldn’t talk to me.”

There’s lots going on here. McIlroy has become a symbol of the East Coast Golf Establishment and a defender of the PGA Tour in its ongoing war-for-eyeballs dispute with LIV Golf. Both men are plus-four talkers, or can be. It was not the height of grace for McIlroy to fail to congratulate DeChambeau on his win over McIlroy last year on the Sunday of the U.S. Open. (He finally did a month later at the Open Championship.) McIlroy has been gently dismissive of YouTube golf. (He says he is happy for people who like it but he’d rather read a book or watch a movie.) DeChambeau has 1.8 million followers on his YouTube channel.

Here’s DeChambeau describing the 7 McIlroy made on par-5 13th, with particular emphasis on his third shot, which finished in the creek: “I wanted to cry for him. I mean, as a professional, you just know to hit it in the middle of the green, and I can’t believe he went for [the pin]. Or he must have just flared it.

“But I’ve hit bad shots in my career, too. It happens. When you’re trying to win a major championship, especially out here, Sunday of Augusta, the Masters, you have to just do it and get the job done and do it right. There were times where it looked like he had full control and at times where it was like, ‘What’s going on?’ Kind of looked like one of my rounds, actually.”

It was funny because it was true.

There is no one in golf remotely like DeChambeau. The arm swing, the marathon range sessions, the physique changes, the child-like enthusiasm for his self-made YouTube challenges, the size of his grips and his forearms. At the end of 72 holes, he looked sunburned, and his blue eyes were practically on fire.

I asked him about cutting his first-tee arrival so close. “I’m not going to miss my tee time,” he said playfully. “I’ve done it a lot in my career.”

I didn’t tell him I was on the rope line as he made his was from nine to ten. I put out my open left hand and he tapped it softly with his left fist. I felt ridiculous.

But to my left and right, I saw all manner of golf fans — kids, frat boys, men in their 30s — who seemed thrilled to connect with the reigning U.S. Open champion. DeChambeau was ten paces ahead of McIlroy, and four shots behind him. He was bounding up the hill, as if something good awaited him there, fiving and bumping all the way.

Michael Bamberger welcomes your comments at Michael.Bamberger@Golf.com.

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Rory McIlroy had been dreaming about what unfolded Sunday at the Masters for as long as he can remember.

Navigating a turbulent final round at Augusta National — which included two double bogeys — to beat Justin Rose on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff likely wasn’t what danced in McIlroy’s head from the age of 8 until Saturday night.

But the end result, a green jacket draped over his shoulders, is an image he has long pictured, ever since he watched his boyhood idol, Tiger Woods, capture his first Masters title in historic fashion.

“Look, it’s a dream come true,” McIlroy said Sunday after winning the 2025 Masters to complete the career Grand Slam. “I have dreamt about that moment for as long as I can remember. I mentioned it out in the prize ceremony, but watching Tiger here in 1997 do what he did, and then winning his first green jacket, I think that inspired so many of my generation to want to emulate what he did.

“You know, there were points in my career where I didn’t know if I would have this nice garment over my shoulders, but I didn’t make it easy today. I certainly didn’t make it easy. I was nervous. It was one of the toughest days I’ve ever had on the golf course.”

When McIlroy’s four-foot birdie putt dropped on the first playoff hole, he became just the sixth golfer in history to win the career Grand Slam. Only McIlroy and Woods have achieved the feat since Jack Nicklaus won the 1966 Open Championship.

Woods wasn’t at Augusta National this week as he continues to recover from surgery to repair a ruptured Achilles tendon, but he congratulated McIlroy for his momentous achievement on X.

On Tuesday, before the tournament started, McIlroy talked about being patient, resilient and willing to have his heart broken to achieve his dreams.

“I think it’s a self-preservation mechanism,” McIlroy said. “It’s just more of a thing where you’re trying to not put 100 percent of yourself out there because of that. It happens in all walks of life. At a certain point in someone’s life, someone doesn’t want to fall in love because they don’t want to get their heart broken. People, I think, instinctually as human beings, we hold back sometimes because of the fear of getting hurt, whether that’s a conscious decision or subconscious decision, and I think I was doing that on the golf course a little bit for a few years.

“But I think once you go through that, once you go through those heartbreaks, as I call them, or disappointments, you get to a place where you remember how it feels and you wake up the next day and you’re like, yeah, life goes on, it’s not as bad as I thought it was going to be. And I think it’s going through those times, especially in recent memory, where the last few years I’ve had chances to win some of the biggest golf tournaments in the world, and it hasn’t quite happened. But life moves on. You dust yourself off and you go again.”

McIlroy stumbled multiple times during the last four days but refused to crumple.

He made two double bogeys during Thursday’s fist round but responded with back-to-back 66s on Friday and Saturday to take a two-shot lead into Friday.

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He opened with a double bogey on the first Sunday and lost the lead to Bryson DeChambeau on the second hole. He regained the lead on the third and held it until he made another catastrophic double bogey at the par-5 13th. McIroy dusted himself off again and made birdies at 15 and 17 to retake the lead by one over Rose. He needed par at No. 18 to win in regulation, but he missed his par putt to the left and wound up facing Rose in a sudden-death playoff.

Any one of those moments could have broken McIlroy. They have in the past. But his determination, as Woods pointed out, kept him in the fight and ultimately delivered him a prize he had coveted for his entire life.

“Look, you have to be the eternal optimist in this game,” McIlroy said. “You know, I’ve been saying it until I’m blue in the face. I truly believe I’m a better player now than I was 10 years ago. It’s so hard to stay patient. It’s so hard to keep coming back every year and trying your best and not being able to get it done.

“There was points on the back nine today, I thought, you know, have I let this slip again? But you know, again, I responded with some clutch shots when I needed to, and really proud of myself for that. It’s been an emotionally draining week for a lot of reasons, a lot of just roller coaster rounds and late finishes. And so just, you know, absolutely thrilled to be sitting here at the end of the week as the last man standing.”

He was last man standing at Augusta National and now has a place in a pantheon of golfing greats that only includes six names: Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Ben Hogan, Gene Sarazen and Rory McIlroy.

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Justin Rose has known Rory McIlroy for a long time.

The 44-year-old Englishman turned back the clock this weekend at Augusta National, and his blistering Sunday charge up the 2025 Masters leaderboard put him in between McIlroy, the green jacket, and the career Grand Slam. Rose started the day seven off McIlroy’s lead, but the combination of nervy stumbles from the Northern Irishman and six back-nine birdies saw Rose and McIlroy head to a sudden-death playoff with everything on the line.

Both players striped their tee shots on the first playoff hole, No. 18, and Rose stuck his approach shot to 15 feet. McIlroy answered by stuffing his to four feet, putting the pressure on Rose to roll in another medium-range putt. Rose’s putt rolled toward the hole and looked good halfway there, but it eventually missed low and drifted past the hole.

That left the stage to McIlroy, who rolled the four-foot birdie attempt into the cup to finally become a Masters champion. McIlroy threw his putter in the air and fell to his knees as the emotions flooded out of him. Once McIlroy got to his feet, he hugged Rose, and the Englishman, who has now lost the Masters in a sudden-death playoff twice, offered a message to his friend.

“I just said, listen, this is a historic moment in golf, isn’t it, someone who achieves the career Grand Slam,” Rose told CBS’ Amanda Balionis after the defeat. “I just said it was pretty cool to be able to share that moment with him. Obviously, I wanted to be the bad guy today, but still, it’s a momentous occasion for the game of golf.”

Rose opened the 2025 Masters with a sizzling seven-under 65. He held the 36-hole lead before falling back Saturday.

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But Rose emptied the tank to try and catch McIlroy on Sunday. He made 10 birdies and four bogeys to shoot 66 and push McIlroy to the brink. That included a 20-foot putt for birdie on the 72nd hole to post 11 under and put the pressure on McIlroy coming down the stretch.

After finishing runner-up at the 2024 Open Championship and this week at the Masters, Rose leaves Augusta National believing his next major victory is on the horizon.

“But listen, to make the putt on 18, the one you dream about as a kid, to obviously give myself an opportunity and a chance was an unbelievable feeling,” Rose said. “Obviously, I’ve been in this position before, 2017. It’s definitely tough, but I bounced back pretty well from that, too. Went on to be World No. 1 after that, so I used it to my advantage.

“Last two majors I’ve played, I’ve come up in second place, but it’s exactly what I’m trying to do with my career at this stage, and it’s more evidence that I’m doing some really good work.”

Rose has seen McIlroy battle through a decade-plus long major championship drought. He understands McIlroy’s place in the game’s history and knows that Rory McIlroy, Masters champion, is a title fitting an all-time talent. Rose has been one of golf’s great ambassadors for over two decades. The journey he has been on over the past five years — from losing his game to rejecting LIV Golf and choosing to rediscover his old form — is the type of admirable “dig it out of the dirt” attitude that professional golf was built on.

Justin Rose would have been a worthy champion at the 2025 Masters. Instead, he was a bridesmaid again.

But while Rose wanted to play spoiler to Rory on Sunday, their embrace and his words spoke volumes about the enormity of McIlroy’s journey and achievement while also saying a lot about the man who once again came up one roll short at Augusta National.

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