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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 contributor to the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI in November 2024, he covered the WNBA, NBA, G League and college basketball for numerous sites, including Winsidr, SB Nation's Detroit Bad Boys and A10Talk. He graduated from Michigan State University before receiving a master's in sports journalism from St. Bonaventure University. Outside of work, he's probably binging the latest Netflix documentary, at a yoga studio or enjoying everything Detroit sports. A lifelong Michigander, he lives in suburban Detroit with his wife, young son and their personal petting zoo of two cats and a dog.

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