It is incredible to think that it is almost a year since Rory McIlroy holed the putt on the 18th green at Augusta National to win The Masters and secure his place in sporting immortality.
McIlroy must have wondered whether he would ever get his hands on an iconic Green Jacket. Despite being only a Masters win away from completing the Career Grand Slam since 2014, the Northern Irishman had rarely looked like getting across the line at the first major of the year.
But that all changed in 2025, with McIlroy eventually emerging triumphant and winning his fifth major title. It was perhaps the most enthralling day of golf the game has ever seen.
What Augusta National members have made of Rory McIlroy’s time as champion
Unsurprisingly, McIlroy has made the most of being The Masters champion. The Green Jacket has appeared all over the world over the last few months.
And it seems that those at Augusta National have been blown away by just how much McIlroy has done since his playoff win over Justin Rose.
Speaking on Fried Egg Golf about the impact McIlroy’s win will have on his future performances at The Masters, Brad Faxon explained just how impressed those at Augusta have been by how the 36-year-old has conducted himself over the last year.
“I think we could see a freedom in Rory like we’ve never seen before. He’s embraced this role as the champion, as the defending champion. Members of the club, Fred Ridley, have said there’s nobody that’s done more for Augusta National than what Rory has done,” he said.
“He’s taken that jacket around the world, literally, to Australia, India, back to Ireland. He’s had a documentary made on the Grand Slam and The Masters win. He knows the history of the game. His recall, his memory, I don’t think there’s a player out there who knows what Rory does about the game. He understands and he embraces tradition.
“Do you remember what he said to Scottie when Scottie was putting the coat on him finally, in the presentation? Rory says, ‘I want to put this on myself next year’. I thought that was one of the great lines. I don’t know if they didn’t hear it or they didn’t think it was funny, I thought it was hysterical.
“Here’s the difference between Rory and Scottie, total respect to both of them, when Rory won last year, he went to the press and spent longer than anybody has ever spent. He did single interviews with other people afterwards that he’s known for years. He went into the members’ room in the clubhouse and had his family with him and his team with him and didn’t want to leave. And he’s been up multiple times this week, he’s played with the chairman, Fred, who actually played the back tees with him. He’s going to go up this week and watch the final nine holes for the ANWA. That’s not something other champs would do.
“He’s going to hand out trophies and shake hands for the Drive, Chip and Putt. He’s got his dad coming up to play a practice round with him on Sunday. I can’t tell you how meaningful this is for him. He might set a record off that first tee for fastest ball speed, highest clubhead speed of any player that’s ever played.”
McIlroy could have a chance to finish what he started in 2011
McIlroy can certainly relax a lot more than ever before now that he has won The Masters. However, that does not mean that it will be easy for him to repeat last year’s victory.
He has arguably not played with the shackles off and a genuine chance of winning since the first three rounds of 2011. Of course, that week ended with a nightmare final day as he ended up posting an 80.
It is surprising – given how good his overall record is – just how rarely McIlroy went into Sunday with a realistic opportunity to secure a win.
He finished second in 2022 while he was in the final group with Patrick Reed in 2018. On neither occasion did he ever look like winning.
Perhaps having the burden of winning for the first time lifted will indeed free him up and allow him to fly out of the blocks just as he did 15 years ago.
Clearly, those at Augusta National will have few complaints if McIlroy remains their champion for another 12 months.
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