Key events
McIlroy can’t make the eagle putt, which kinda ruins the effect a bit. “I knew it!” cries one of the patrons. But it’s a birdie that gives him sole ownership of the lead again. DeChambeau scrambles par, getting up and down from the dropzine. Meanwhile up on 18, Justin Rose is on in regulation, but facing a long birdie putt.
-11: McIlroy (15)
-10: Rose (17), Åberg (16)
-8: Scheffler (17)
-7: Im (F), Day (16), Reed (16), DeChambeau (15)
Is that the same guy who just chunked a wedge into Rae’s Creek?! Much depends on McIlroy’s ability to close the deal, but if he does, that shot will go down in Masters lore, right up there with Sarazen’s albatross and Tiger’s chip. On Sky, Paul McGinley notes that it turned 40 yards in the air. It was an absolute work of art. Given the context of what just happened, it’s a breathtaking effort.
McIlroy appears to blocked out by the pines down the left of 15. Or is he? Before he can decide what to do, DeChambeau dunks his second into the pond. Then a carpe-diem moment for Rory. He goes for it! Taking on the pond, he whip-cracks an iron around the trees from 208 yards, drawing into the heart of the green, his ball rolling to six feet. It’s not quite Gene Sarazen, but there’s another shot that will be heard all around the world! The roar itself will have reached North Carolina, for a start.
McIlroy batters his drive at 15 down the left of the fairway. It’s on the short stuff, but whether the branches of the pines on that side will affect his second shot remains to be seen. Meanwhile on 16, Åberg sends his tee shot over the flag, back-right of the green, and onto the fringe. He never looks like making the 20-foot left-to-right curler, and the par keeps him at -10. Then on 18, Justin Rose crashes his tee shot down the middle. If only he’d done that in the play-off with Sergio back in 2017, huh.
McIlroy sends his wedge at 14 past the flag, assuming the backstop on the bowl-shaped green will bring it back. But the fringe holds it up. His right-to-left curler stops one dimple short of dropping. Another shot gone. Meanwhile Bryson makes birdie to get back to -7. Up on 17, Rose chips crisply over the flag to seven feet, but he’s got a tricky downhill par putt. He spends a long time over it. To be fair, this could be his last chance for Masters glory. But he never looks like making it. A ginger prod that’s always staying wide left. Bogey as well. Look at this now!
-10: Rose (17), Åberg (15), McIlroy (14)
-8: Scheffler (16)
Rory manufactures a slice from the trees down the right of 14. He reaches the front of the green, only for the ball to take a vicious 90-degree kick to the right and stop short of the green. But there’s similar trouble for Justin Rose on 17: the new co-leader finds trees to the left and can’t reach his green either. And to add further intrigue, Ludvig Åberg sends his second at 15 wide of the bunker to the right of the green, but gets up and down for a birdie that takes him to within a shot. He’s 10 and could have a share of the lead soon, depending on McIlroy and Rose’s ability to scramble.
Rory McIlroy wears a look of stunned, queasy bewilderment. He’s just gift-wrapped two shots to the field. Half of the gallery had their hands on their head when he chunked that wedge into the creek. And now he’s carved his tee shot at 14 into the pines down the right. He bounced back from those double bogeys on Thursday. He bounced back from the double bogey at 1 today. Now he’s got to find something for a third time. But so close to home, so far down the line, does he have anything left in the mental tank?
Rory can’t make his putt. A soft touch to set it on its way, but it’s always staying out on the right. A double-bogey seven, with a wedge in his hand from the centre of the fairway. Then over on 16, Rose makes his birdie putt, and yelps of delight, despair, elation, depression and confusion erupt all across the property!
-11: Rose (16), McIlroy (13)
-9: Åberg (14)
-8: Scheffler (15)
-7: Im (F), Day (14), Conners (13), Reed (13)
That came out of nowhere. McIlroy had looked a bit tight on 11, but seemed to bounce back well with that measured par on 12. And now this. He pitches his fourth from the dropzone to 11 feet, but it’s a treacherous downhill dribbler. Huge putt coming up here, and on 16 where Rose is lining up a birdie …
Drama on 13! Rory McIlroy plays it safe, laying up in front of Rae’s Creek. But he gets too greedy with his wedge, going straight for the tightly positioned flag, front right of the green. Blocked and short, to the right of the pin, the ball smacks into the bank and topples back into the water! That’s an astonishing mistake from 80-odd yards, and now he’ll need to get up and down from the dropzone to limit the damage to bogey.
Birdie for Justin Rose at the par-five 15th. He’d carved his second into the bunker to the right, but bashed out to a couple of feet and tidied up for birdie. And he’s got a huge chance of making another on 16, hitting one of the shots of the day at 16 to five feet. The pin’s not in its usual Sunday position this week, tucked back-right where it was positioned 50 years ago, when Jack Nicklaus won one of the great Masters.
Bryson whips a lovely shot out of the bunker to the back of 12. But there’s no way of stopping it, and it rolls 12 feet past. He can’t make the putt coming back, and at -6 his race is run. Two careful putts for Rory bring a par. Then he sends a 3-wood down the middle of the par-five 13th. Further up the hole, Patrick Reed showcases his knowledge of Augusta National by landing his third a good 30 feet past the flag and letting the gradient of the green gather his ball back to three feet. That’s one of the shots of the week …. but he shoves the birdie putt wide right, then pulls the one coming back wide left. A three-putt from three feet, and the bogey puts an end to his bid. He’s -7.
Ludvig Åberg nearly steers in a 30-foot right-to-left swinger on 13 for eagle. So close but birdie will suffice and he joins Justin Rose in second spot. He’s -9. Meanwhile Scottie Scheffler whips his second at 14 to four feet, and moves into a tie for fourth at -8, not relinquishing his title without a fight. “In a pub in Shrewsbury,” reports friend of the hole-by-hole report, Friday’s co-host Matt Cooper. “The cries of ‘Stop! Stop!’ were superb for Rory’s approach at 11. The cheers when the ball did halt even better. Never known an atmosphere like this for golf.”
The storied 12th, then. Patrick Reed has just made an outrageous par here. Having left himself with a downhill lie in the bunker at the back, he splashes out to ten feet then tickles in the putt. The 2018 champion remains in the hunt at -8. Now it’s Rory’s turn. He finds the green. Not close, but dry and safe. Bryson, whose head has gone at the moment, sends his effort into the bunker at the back. He’ll need a Reed-style scramble if he’s to retain any hope at all.
From the dropzone, Bryson chips to seven feet. He misreads the putt he’s left with, imagining way too much left-to-right turn, and that’s a double out of nowhere. Rory meanwhile half-duffs his wedge, leaving it 11 feet short. He can’t make the par saver and that’s a bogey, but it could have been a hell of a lot worse when his second shot was heading towards the pond. And he might not be aware at the moment, but due to events elsewhere, he’s still got a four-shot lead.
-13: McIlroy (11)
-9: Rose (14)
-8: Åberg (12), Reed (12)
-7: Scheffler (13), Day (12), Conners (12), DeChambeau (11)
Things are going Rory’s way elsewhere, too. Justin Rose drives into trees down the left of 14 and can’t reach the green in regulation. He isn’t able to get up and down. He’s -9. Meanwhile Åberg can’t save himself from the swale at 12 and slips back to -8.
In fact McIlroy’s ball continued a way past the big tree down the right, so he’s got a way in to the green. A low hook underneath the branches. Which he doesn’t execute particularly well. He gets the right-to-left shape, but underhits it, and the ball dribbles towards the pond on the left. It’s heading in, isn’t it? No! It stops on the fringe and stays dry. What a huge stroke of good fortune … and is inevitably followed by DeChambeau succumbing to the pull he’s been battling all week, dunking his ball into the drink from the centre of the fairway. Wow. A look of grim disappointment spreads across DeChambeau’s face. The golfing gods did McIlroy a solid there.
McIlroy booms a long drive down the right of 11. The ball is taken off by the camber of the fairway towards the trees. His route to the green might be blocked by a thick trunk. DeChambeau down the middle. Meanwhile on 12, Åberg pulls his tee shot long and left, and is fortunate not to find the azaleas. He’ll have work to do from the swale.
… Rory makes his birdie putt on 10! Just perfectly judged, a gentle right-to-left slider that was always tracking in. He softly punches the air, before walking off stony faced. He’s clearly not letting himself get carried away. That must be so hard, though, because with Bryson only making par … well, look at this.
-14: McIlroy (10)
-10: Rose (13)
-9: Åberg (11), DeChambeau (10)
-8: Conners (10), Reed (10)
A couple of big putts. First up Justin Rose, whose big left-to-right curler from 27 feet on 10 nearly drops for eagle. The width of a dimple away, if that. So close! The birdie takes him into second spot. That’s three in a row, and five in seven holes! The 2015 and 2017 runner-up looking to make it a hat-trick of second spots … or even one better? He’s -10. Then Ludvig Åberg rams one in from 25 feet on 11 to save his par, having opted to lay up rather than take on the pond that did for his dreams last year. He’s -9. The leaderboard is due an update, but let me get to that in a minute, because …
Bryson’s second into 10 considers toppling down the bank to the left of the green, but hangs on. Rory drops his club at the end of his follow-through, but it’s unnecessary drama, because he’s fired a dart straight at the flag! He’ll have an uphill look at birdie from 15 feet. Viktor Hovland made his eagle putt on 15, incidentally. He’s -2.
This is where things started going wrong for Rory back in 2011, of course. But he’s not bothering the windows of the Butler Cabin today. Instead he clacks his drive down the middle of the fairway. Perfection. Bryson there too. Meanwhile we have a new clubhouse leader: Harris English, whose 68 today means he ends the week at -4.
The final pairing hits the turn … so welcome to the start of the 2025 Masters Tournament!
A big matchplay back-and-forth on 9! From the centre of the fairway, Bryson wedges to six feet. McIlroy replies by knocking his to seven. Rory’s up first, and his putt is straighter. In it goes, and suddenly the pressure is ramped up on Bryson, who misses his birdie effort low on the left. All of a sudden the gap at the top is four!
-13: McIlroy (9)
-9: Rose (12), Åberg (10), DeChambeau (9)
-8: Conners (10), Reed (10)
-7: Im (14), Scheffler (11), Day (10)
Viktor Hovland comes this close to replicating Gene Sarazen’s famous Shot Heard Round The World. A wood crashed arrow-straight from 239 yards on 15 that half-plops in the hole but pings the flagstick and somehow stays out! Wow. It would have been just the second albatross / double-eagle on 15 in Masters history …
Craig Wood had missed out on the inaugural title by one stroke, but looked odds-on to win in 1935, in the clubhouse with a three-shot advantage over his only real challenger. But that challenger was Gene Sarazen, who was still out on the course, in the middle of the par-five 15th having clattered a 250-yard drive down the 485-yard hole. He was playing with Walter Hagen, who upon hearing the news of Wood’s clubhouse mark, cried: “Well, that’s that!” Sarazen shrugged and replied: “They might go in from anywhere.” Whereupon he drew his four-wood back and landed his second on the front of the green, the ball rolling to the far-right corner and into the cup for a double eagle. Now level with Wood, he parred his way in, then breezed the 36-hole play-off. His albatross became known as The Shot Heard Round The World, and one which put the Augusta National Invitation Tournament on the map.
(from this old article)
Rory and Bryson bash their drives at 9 down the middle. All good and well, but there are more stirrings coming from behind! Because Ludvig Åberg swishes his second pin high to 15 feet and makes the putt from the fringe, while Justin Rose plonks his tee shot into the heart of 12 and walks in the putt! That’s his fourth birdie in six holes, and now look!
-12: McIlroy (8)
-9: Rose (12), Åberg (10), DeChambeau (8)
-8: Conners (9), Reed (9)
-7: Im (14), Scheffler (10), Day (10)
McIlroy’s third into 7 stops 25 feet short of the flag. DeChambeau’s effort sails 35 feet past. A pair of pars, so with another hole chalked off, that’s slightly advantageous to Rory … except folk in the peloton behind are making waves. Eagle for Im Sung-jae on 13, for example … a fourth birdie in a row for Patrick Reed, at 9 … and magical birdie for Justin Rose at 11, a 60-foot rake when two putts across a green tilting towards the pond wasn’t a given!
-12: McIlroy (8)
-9: DeChambeau (8)
-8: Rose (11), Åberg (9), Conners (9), Reed (9)
-7: Im (13), Scheffler (10), Day (9)
-6: Homa (13)
Scottie Scheffler blooters a 338-yard drive down the left of 10. Just a cheeky wedge in, but he only just finds the front of the deep green, the pin back left. He nearly drains a 60-footer for an absurd birdie, but that’s a par and the defending champion remains at -7. Not out of it, but not with much wriggle room left.
Rory and Bryson take turns to wedge out of the high-faced fairway bunker on 8. Meanwhile up ahead on the green, the 2018 winner Patrick Reed cards his third birdie on the bounce to insert himself into the story at -7. Birdie for Corey Conners too, and he’s -8. Meanwhile Jason Day nearly holes out from the centre of the 9th fairway, but is more than content with the tap-in par. He’s -7 as well.
Once again, McIlroy finds a fairway bunker with his drive, this time on 8. He lets his head drop for the first time in a while. That’s going to be a lay-up. DeChambeau has the opportunity to apply a little pressure … but follows Rory into the bunker! He’d asked his caddie whether he was able to carry that trap, but reality has given him a different answer.
You’d think it’d be impossible for Rory to leave his downhill birdie putt short. But he does. It’s a still a par, though, one he’d have begged for when watching his tee shot curl into the trees. Bryson, who couldn’t afford a bogey there, completes his outrageous up and down. Not sure who’ll be the happier about that. Both will feel they’ve got away with one; both will also feel they could have come away with more.
-12: McIlroy (7)
-9: DeChambeau (7)
-8: Åberg (8)
-7: Rose (9), Scheffler (9), Conners (7)
Big mistake by Bryson, who from the centre of the 7th fairway, dunks his second into the bunker guarding the front of the green. He fires a confused glance down at his iron and checks the number. Over to Rory, in the trees on the left. He viciously flashes a wedge from 153 yards over the treetops … and when the ball eventually comes back down from the heavens, it pitches right next to the pin before skipping eight yards past. He roars with laughter, hard. He and his caddie enjoyed that. But it’s back over to Bryson, who splashes out of the bunker and sends his ball miles wide left and long, but cleverly so, using the tilt of the green to bring it all the way back to a couple of feet. That’s wonderful. So smart and so well executed.
Rory has been so wayward off the tee today. He takes a fairway wood for safety on 7, only to flay another into trees, this time on the left. Bryson takes iron and splits the fairway.
Rory does well to putt through the fringe, up and over a hump, to kick-in distance. Par. But he’s given Bryson a read of the big left-to-right break. DeChambeau sets his putt off on the correct line … but doesn’t hit it, the ball one turn shy of dropping. Another chance to eat into McIlroy’s lead is spurned. Elsewhere, Corey Conners nearly holes out from 135 yards on 7, but has to settle for a tap-in birdie, while Scottie Scheffler makes it three birdies in four holes at 8. He couldn’t, could he? It’s not completely beyond the realms, is it?
-12: McIlroy (6)
-9: DeChambeau (6)
-8: Åberg (7)
-7: Rose (8), Scheffler (8), Conners (7)
Ludvig Åberg smiles ruefully as his birdie putt up 7 horseshoes out. He was walking after that one in anticipation. He remains at -8 but looks to be enjoying himself. Meanwhile back on 6, Rory and Bryson take turns to find the top tier of the green with their tee shots, the former’s ball rolling a few inches off the back, the latter on the dancefloor and with a significantly shorter putt. What a wonderfully unpredictable tussle this is shaping up to be. “I thought I was made of pretty strong stuff,” writes Matt Emerson, “but I’ve had to resort to Dr Chablis’ Patented Nerve Settler. A large dose at that.” Good idea, Dr Golf approves. Mine’s in the special cold cupboard, ready to go the very nanosecond jackets are draped.
