McIlroy joins elite club with Masters win

Rory McIlroy's long-awaited Masters victory in April made him the first golfer in 25 years to join golf'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.

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Rory McIlroy celebrates winning the 2025 Masters on April 13.

(AFP)

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 and prevailed 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.

A CUT ABOVE

World No.1 Scheffler showed why he remains a cut above his peers in 2025 after leading the PGA Tour in wins with six, including convincing major triumphs at the PGA Championship and British Open. He was fourth at the Masters and seventh at the US Open.