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Ken Griffey Jr. Captured Awesome Photo of Rory McIlroy's Emotional Masters-Winning Moment

The Kid took some awesome shots at the 2025 Masters.
Blake Silverman|
Griffey Jr. is seen on the second green during the second round of the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club.
Griffey Jr. is seen on the second green during the second round of the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. | Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

Rory McIlroy's Masters win brought out all the emotions—for the patrons at Augusta National, viewers across the world and of course, McIlroy.

His reaction to his first green jacket and completing the career Grand Slam was raw and will be remembered by many for years to come. A familiar face found himself at Augusta to capture photos for Masters.com and he was in the perfect position for what was to follow after McIlroy's final putt. Baseball Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. was behind the lens all week, as he took up photography as a second career years ago once he hung up his cleats.

Even though he has shot MLB, NFL and MLS games, as well as IndyCar events, Griffey acknowledged that he was the "low man on the totem pole" at Augusta National. Even so, he was ready for the instant-classic Masters moment as he took an awesome photo of McIlroy's emotional instant reaction to winning the tournament.

Griffey took some more good shots too, combining the incredible scenery at Augusta National with the action of the 2025 Masters.

Pretty good for the self-proclaimed low man on the totem pole. The Kid chose a pretty good Masters to get his feet wet. Come future tournaments, he'll be a seasoned pro.

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Blake Silverman
BLAKE SILVERMAN

Blake Silverman is a writer at Sports Illustrated, primarily covering the NBA and WNBA. Before joining SI in November 2024 as a breaking/trending news writer, he covered the WNBA, NBA, G League and college basketball for numerous sites, including Winsidr, SB Nation and A10Talk. He’s an alum of both Michigan State and St. Bonaventure University, receiving a master’s degree from the Bonnies’ sports journalism program. Outside of work, he’s a husband, father, yogi and fairly mediocre tennis player who’s open to any tips on how to play defense in EA Sports College Football.

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