The 2025 Masters is within the books, and it did not disappoint.
After a roller-coaster remaining spherical, Rory McIlroy made a birdie on the primary playoff gap to beat Justin Rose and full the profession Grand Slam. Rounding out the highest 5 have been Patrick Reed in third, Scottie Scheffler in fourth and Sungjae Im and Bryson DeChambeau tied for fifth.
What does the win imply for the remainder of McIlroy’s season? Who else stood out? Who’re the favorites for the remaining majors, beginning with the PGA Championship in mid-Might?
Listed here are a number of the greatest questions popping out of the Masters and searching ahead to the remainder of the 2025 season.
The place does Rory go from right here for the remainder of the yr?
Mark Schlabach: You must surprise if, after ready for therefore lengthy to seize a inexperienced jacket and full the profession Grand Slam and ending a drought of greater than 10 years with out a main championship, this does not bust the lid off Rory’s profession.
McIlroy has been one of the proficient and completed golfers of his era, successful greater than 50 occasions across the globe and reaching No. 1 within the Official World Golf Rating for greater than 100 weeks throughout his profession.
The actual fact he hadn’t received a serious for the reason that 2014 PGA Championship might need stored him from becoming a member of the likes of Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Tiger Woods and others because the really finest golfers in historical past.
Now, McIlroy is now not carrying a 1,000-pound anvil round his neck each time he goes to a serious, particularly when he makes the drive down Magnolia Lane at Augusta Nationwide Golf Membership.
“At present was tough,” McIlroy mentioned after Sunday’s spherical. “I used to be unbelievably nervous this morning. Actually nervous on the primary gap, as you witnessed with the double, however as I mentioned, that kind of calmed me down and I used to be in a position to bounce again and present that resilience that I’ve talked about so much.
“Look, it was a heavy weight to hold, and fortunately now I haven’t got to hold it, and it frees me up and I do know I am coming again right here yearly, which is beautiful.”
Paolo Uggetti: Earlier than any questions have been requested in McIlroy’s post-round information convention, he turned to the media with a smile and a query: “What are we going to speak about subsequent yr?”
Don’t fret, Rory. The dialog has already shifted to what number of extra majors he can probably add to his whole, not simply in the remainder of his profession, however this yr. However I am going to play satan’s advocate right here and surprise how McIlroy will have the ability to come down from the excessive of this victory.
All you wanted to see was McIlroy’s response on the 18th inexperienced Sunday to understand how a lot of a weight off his shoulders this was. So whereas sure, I agree that he will be freed up now and concentrate on including to his main whole, the sweetness and agony of this sport is that he will likely be beginning as soon as once more from scratch come the subsequent match.
McIlroy has been so adamantly dedicated to the method throughout this 11-year main drought, particularly previously 4 years, with a purpose to hold giving himself possibilities. Now, if he needs to proceed so as to add to his tally of each PGA Tour wins and main championships, will probably be fascinating to see how his starvation will evolve and whether or not it would stay on the identical degree.
The excellent news? Nobody is enjoying higher golf than he’s proper now, and the majors this yr — Quail Hole (received there 4 occasions), Oakmont and Royal Portrush (dwelling recreation) — all arrange in his favor.
Apart from Rory successful, what’s your greatest takeaway from the Masters this yr?
Schlabach: World No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler did not have his finest stuff at Augusta Nationwide Golf Membership final week, however he was adequate to complete solo fourth at 8 underneath. Scheffler’s iron play was only a tad off from his world-class kind, and he by no means appeared to get any momentum rolling till Sunday’s 3-under 69 practically acquired him into the hunt when McIlroy was making a large number of the second 9.
Scheffler hit 62% of greens in regulation and 71% of fairways over 72 holes. He ranked twenty sixth amongst gamers who made the lower in strokes gained: method (.630) and 58th in strokes gained: off the tee (-.110).
“I feel it was simply every week by which I may have gotten annoyed with both how I used to be enjoying or how I used to be swinging or stuff occurring on the course, not hitting it the place I used to be wanting,” Scheffler mentioned. “I used to be simply pleased with the best way we hung in there and put up a great battle. … I feel this was one of the best I used to be mentally all yr. I feel my recreation simply wasn’t there.”
Scheffler was making an attempt to hitch Nicklaus as the one golfers to win a inexperienced jacket 3 times in 4 years.
It is going to be fascinating to see whether or not McIlroy can chase down Scheffler for the highest spot on the earth rankings this season. Scheffler was clearly one of the best participant on the earth in 2024, however he hasn’t but received this yr. Rory is on his technique to doing what Scottie did final yr with three victories on the AT&T Pebble Seaside Professional-Am, Gamers Championship and the Masters.
Uggetti: The golf world could also be break up in half, however man, do the key championships proceed to be in such a great place proper now. Give it some thought: 4 occasions a yr, not solely do one of the best gamers on the earth lastly get to tee it up towards one another, however additionally they carry with them a treasure trove of storylines to chew on.
As time has gone on since LIV’s inception, the notion of a rivalry between the 2 sides (no less than on the course) has dissipated instead of extra compelling storylines that the assembly of the excursions on the most important phases brings.
This yr’s Masters, like final yr’s U.S. Open — and actually, the previous few years of main championships — has served to push the cream of the crop to the highest and given us dramatic finishes and winners who’ve felt like the best ones. The majors stay the tournaments with all of the intrigue and all the facility.
Maybe, sooner or later, reunification will come to fruition and the broader recreation will likely be higher for it. However for now, the majors really feel extra heightened than ever, and so they have continued to ship.
Greatest winner(s) from the Masters?
Schlabach: In addition to McIlroy, I am going to go along with a few growing older former Masters champions: Zach Johnson and Bubba Watson.
Johnson, 49, had fallen to 289th on the earth rankings after lacking eight cuts in 2024 and never doing a lot of something this season, outdoors of tying for twenty first within the Sony Open in Hawaii in January. He did not play a lot golf final fall whereas watching his son play his senior yr of highschool soccer, and he appeared to have a watch on PGA Tour Champions when he turns 50 subsequent yr.
Plus, he has been battling a proper elbow damage since final summer season.
The 2007 Masters champion made six birdies in an eight-hole stretch and carded a 6-under 66 on Saturday, his finest spherical at Augusta Nationwide. He tied for eighth at 5 underneath, his finest end on the PGA Tour since 2021.
“I nonetheless really feel like I’ve it,” Johnson mentioned. “I do not know if satisfaction is the best factor, proud, no matter you wish to name it.”
Watson, 46, hadn’t completed a lot of something within the LIV Golf League — his finest end this season was a tie for twelfth in Saudi Arabia within the opener. He is at the moment thirty sixth within the particular person factors standings.
However the two-time Masters winner matched his profession low with a 4-under 68 on Sunday and tied for 14th at 3 underneath. It was his finest end at Augusta Nationwide since tying for twelfth in 2019.
Watson was making his seventeenth begin on the Masters, and his course data was a bonus.
“You are at all times making an attempt to get data,” Watson mentioned. “However as you become older that data would not do nearly as good because it used to.”
Uggetti: If we’re going for the non-Rory division, it is easy to look towards Max Homa, who completed in a tie for twelfth.
Maybe nobody was looking for a semblance of a optimistic week on the golf course coming into this week greater than Homa, who had missed 5 straight cuts earlier than arriving in Augusta and had been forthright about how a lot he was combating his swing.
So, how do you get proper?
For Homa, it seems the reply is enjoying Augusta Nationwide 4 days in a row. Over 4 rounds, Homa broke par each single time.
“It is superior. This has been simply not enjoyable in any respect,” Homa mentioned after making the lower Friday. “It does really feel good to not beat myself out right here.”
Homa clearly feels some degree of consolation right here, and he confirmed it. A yr after he completed in a tie for third, his T-12 end earns him an computerized invite for subsequent yr.
After all, Homa is not simply searching for optimistic weeks like this one; he is after consistency and successful. There’s loads of work left to do.
“Powerful occasions do not final; powerful folks do,” Homa mentioned. “On the finish of the day, if you happen to get out of your individual head it is only one occasion. You’ll be able to miss the lower by one and really feel like rubbish. It sucks. However at all times nearer than you assume.”
Greatest disappointment from the Masters
Schlabach: Plainly the PGA Tour and LIV Golf League aren’t anywhere close to resolving their differences and reuniting the game, so we’ll most likely get to see all the world’s finest golfers competing towards one another solely three extra occasions this season.
Whereas there have been loads of huge names who missed the lower on the Masters, LIV Golf League captains Brooks Koepka, Cameron Smith and Dustin Johnson have been among the many greatest.
Koepka, a five-time main championship winner, missed the lower by making a quadruple-bogey 8 on the 18th gap of the second spherical. Koepka, who has three wins within the PGA Championship and two within the U.S. Open, has completed outdoors the highest 25 in his previous six main championships.
Johnson, who captured the 2016 U.S. Open and 2020 Masters, missed the lower with rounds of 2-over 74 and 1-over 73, so it wasn’t like he performed terrible. However DJ has missed the lower in 4 of his previous six begins in majors and did not end within the high 30 within the different two.
Smith’s departure to the LIV Golf League was one of the stunning as a result of he gave the impression to be on the peak of his profession after capturing the one hundred and fiftieth Open Championship at St. Andrews in Scotland in 2023. He tied for sixth on the 2024 Masters however then tied for 63rd on the PGA Championship, tied for thirty second on the U.S. Open and missed the lower at The Open.
Too-early favorites for the remainder of the majors?
Schlabach: McIlroy will most likely be the favourite on the subsequent main championship, the PGA Championship at Quail Hole Membership in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Might 15-18. He has received the Wells Fargo Championship on the identical course 4 occasions, in 2010, 2015, 2021 and 2024, and set the course document twice with a 62 in 2010 and 61 5 years later. It would not be a shock to see him add his sixth main and third PGA Championship title subsequent month. I am going to go along with Rory to win a second straight main subsequent month.
I am anticipating Scheffler to have a few victories underneath his belt by the point he arrives on the U.S. Open at Oakmont Nation Membership outdoors Pittsburgh on June 12-15. He had three straight top-10 finishes within the main earlier than tying for forty first at Pinehurst No. 2 final yr. Gamers aren’t going to have the ability to bomb it round Oakmont due to its slender fairways and myriad bunkers, so give me somebody who can management his ball and work it each methods. Scheffler is not going by a whole season with out a main championship victory.
McIlroy will even be a sentimental favourite when the Open Championship returns to Royal Portrush in Northern Eire on July 17-20. He missed the lower the final time The Open was performed there in 2019, carding a quadruple-bogey 8 on the primary gap and a triple-bogey 7 on the final in a gap spherical of 8-over 79. He tried to battle again and make the lower with a 6-under 65 within the second spherical however missed the weekend by one. Regulate Irishman Shane Lowry, who received the earlier Open Championship at Royal Portrush. He is enjoying nice golf, too.
Uggetti: Mark has the favorites nailed, so I am going to add some names which can be value contemplating.
Ludvig Åberg has now completed inside the highest 10 at Augusta two years in a row, and although he has had just one different top-12 end at a serious in eight tries, his recreation is tailored for just about each potential main championship setup. The 2025 Genesis Invitational winner has the ballstriking to compete with the likes of Scheffler and McIlroy, and he has proven repeatedly that even when down late on a Sunday, he has the firepower to make a cost.
Preserve a detailed eye too on Xander Schauffele. This week at Augusta, Schauffele as soon as once more didn’t seem like he was totally again in peak kind following the rib damage that sidelined him earlier this season, however he nonetheless gritted out a T-8 end after a gap 73.
And let’s, after all, not neglect about who was main the match after two holes Sunday. DeChambeau is not going to let this loss deter him from persevering with to threaten at main tournaments. Quail Hole and Oakmont are more likely to be setups that favor DeChambeau’s size and provides him an opportunity so as to add to his personal main whole.
