AUGUSTA — The tears streamed down his face as Rory McIlroy walked the rope line from the 18th green to the clubhouse, a long line of fans several deep chanting his name and a slew of players, officials, friends and family there to greet him.
Among the first was Shane Lowry, McIlroy’s friend and fellow competitor whose smile was as wide as the putt needed to win the Masters in a playoff on Sunday. Lowry grabbed McIlroy and lifted him off the ground, a hug that spoke volumes.
“For him, it’s been everything,” Lowry said, a day after gruffly ending an interview when the subject of McIlroy was broached. “He might tell you different but winning this has been everything for him for the past 10 years. Just delighted for him. Very happy and proud.
“I didn’t have a very good day myself and when I reflect this is another good example of no matter how tough things get, you keep trying.”
Lowry, an Irishman who won the British Open at Royal Portrush near McIlroy’s hometown in 2019, expressed the feelings of many. Tiger Woods tweeted his congratulations as will countless others.
McIlroy even got a long embrace from Justin Rose, whose final-round 66 including an amazing birdie on the 18th helped force the playoff that McIlroy won with a short birdie putt.
Afterward, Rose’s wife, Kate, was also there to offer a long hug of congratulations. The Englishman and McIlroy have been longtime friends and foes and members of the same European Ryder Cup team.
“Best day of my golfing life,” McIlroy said afterward. “I’m very proud of myself. I’m very proud of never giving up. I’m proud of when I kept coming back and dusting myself off and not letting the disappointments get to me.”
McIlroy, who now has five major championships but the Masters his first in 11 years, has dealt with his share of heartbreak, despite notching a 29th career PGA Tour victory and solidifying himself as one of the best players in the world with his third win of 2025.
He finished second at each of the last two U.S. Opens, including to Bryson DeChambeau last year. It was DeChambeau who briefly overtook him for the Masters lead on Sunday after a horrendous start that saw McIlroy make a double bogey on the first hole and follow with a par at the end while DeChambeau played the holes in 1 under.
There was also the 2022 loss at the Home of Golf, where despite shooting a final-round 70 at the Old Course and hitting every green in regulation, McIlroy was passed by a surging Cam Smith.
“There’s nobody who’s ever watched Rory McIlroy play golf or been around him who didn’t think he would win the Masters one day,” said Tommy Fleetwood, another golf friend who has been part of European Ryder Cup teams. “I think the boys always had faith in him and he had a lot of faith in himself. He just hits shots that a lot of us can’t hit. I’m just so happy for him. I always thought he was going to do it and he’s done it.”
Fleetwood, admitted, however, that Sunday’s round of 73 that came with two double bogeys—and four for the tournament—didn’t come without its tense moments.
McIlroy seemed in control when playing the par-5 13th, having hit a strategic drive that he then laid up to a seemingly perfect position from 85 yards out. Somehow, his wedge shot found the water instead of the center of the green.
Two holes later, McIlroy was rifling an 7-iron from 209 yards at the par-5 15th, hitting it to 6 feet. He missed the putt, but the birdie had him tied again with Rose—who had taken the lead when he birdied the 16th.
“Rory lives in a different spotlight than the rest of us,” Fleetwood said. “Whatever he does, good or bad, obviously gets accentuated. I think that back nine today exemplifies Rory McIlroy. It’s just amazing. I thought he was playing the course perfectly and then 13 comes out of nowhere. To hit a shot like he hit on 13 to then hit one like he did on 15 ... how is this possible? What’s going on? It’s like nine holes of Rory McIlroy’s career in a nutshell.”
McIlroy’s 8-iron approach to the 17th to set up a kick-in birdie was another example of his brilliance, only to be followed by his inexplicable wedge shot from 125 yards at the 18th into the right bunker, leading to a bogey and the playoff.
From there, McIlroy rifled a 314-yard drive into the fairway, hitting his second shot to 4 feet to set up the winning birdie putt.
“For him and his team, to play that playoff like he did and get it done, just phenomenal,” said Fleetwood, who noted his disappointment for Rose, another friend.
“You just have to feel unbelievably happy for Rory and the happiness for whoever won,” he said. “You couldn’t have wrote a better script, really. In the end, Rory got it done.”
Afterward, Nick Faldo, the six-time major winner who captured three Masters, tried to put it into words on the Sky Sports broadcast.
“Dreams have been made today,” Faldo said. “He’s a legend. He’s 35 years old and a legend. He put it all together. He did just about everything we said he wouldn’t do. He didn’t plot his away around the golf course. We’re blessed. We’ve seen history, haven’t we. A remarkable achievement.”
The celebrations continued outside the clubhouse in the fleeting moments after the winning putt before McIlroy came over to meet a large group of Irish media personnel, who offered up their stirring congratulations.
McIlroy ended the session by saying: “I’m gonna go get a green jacket” to rousing applause and cheers from all around.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as ‘The Boys Always Had Faith’: Rory McIlroy’s Friends and Peers Celebrate Masters Win.