With His Triumph at Augusta, Rory McIlroy Joined Another Exclusive Club

McIlroy’s one-shot win was epic, writes Bob Harig, and it achieved a new piece of golf history. Plus, notes on LIV Golf’s disappointing Masters.

McIlroy basked in his one-shot win at Augusta. | Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated

AUGUSTA — So much of the conversation around Rory McIlroy’s 2025 Masters victory, understandably, involved his quest for the career Grand Slam and winning a major title for the first time in 11 years.

The storyline as he took the lead through 36 holes at Augusta National this year was that he could become just the fourth player to win the Masters in consecutive years, after Jack Nicklaus (1965–66), Nick Faldo (1989–90) and Tiger Woods (2001–02). Clearly an impressive feat.

Another one? The win gives him a total of six major championships, which puts McIlroy in some elite company.

Only 11 players in golf history have won more, putting McIlroy in a tie for 12th with Faldo, Lee Trevino and Phil Mickelson.

How rare is six major wins? Before McIlroy shot a final-round 71 to defeat Scottie Scheffler by a stroke at the 90th Masters, the last player to claim a sixth major was Phil Mickelson at the 2021 PGA Championship. Mickelson became the oldest player to win a major at age 50 when he won at Kiawah Island.

Before Mickelson, you have to go back to Tiger Woods in 2001, when he won the Masters to complete the Tiger Slam by winning four consecutive majors. That was his sixth of 15 major titles.

So McIlroy joins Woods and Mickelson as the only players in the last 25 years to get to six major wins, which clearly shows how difficult it is to get even that far up the list.

Before that, Faldo (1996), Trevino (1984), Tom Watson (1982), Jack Nicklaus (1966) and Arnold Palmer (1962) did so.

The others ahead of McIlroy are Walter Hagen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Harry Vardon, Bobby Jones, Gene Sarazen and Sam Snead.

Mickelson’s triumph at Kiawah marked the last time a player joined the six-major club. | David Yeazell-Imagn Images

Next up for McIlroy at seven majors are Vardon, Jones, Sarazen, Snead and Palmer.

And while you can make an argument that McIlroy is in the conversation for the top 10 players of all time, he’s certainly making a run at best European golfer. Vardon won seven majors (six were British Opens) during an era before the Masters and PGA even existed.

Faldo won three British Opens, three Masters and 30 titles on the European Tour.

“Today I tie Nick, so yeah, there's obviously going to be that conversation, and that debate is going to be hard,” McIlroy said. “But it's a cool conversation to be a part of.

“It took me 10 (actually 11) years to win my fifth major, and then my sixth one's come pretty soon after it. I'm not putting a number on it, but I certainly don't want to stop here.”

McIlroy turns 37 next month and is clearly not looking like someone who will slow down. He undoubtedly will have more opportunities, and you’d think another British Open might be something he’d point toward.

Matching Palmer, Jones and Snead would offer an incredible history lesson. Only a few players today would seem to have a shot at getting there.

Scheffler fell one shot short on Sunday, but still looks like a player set to reach six majors in the future. | Katie Goodale-Imagn Images

Brooks Koepka has been sitting on five majors since he won the 2023 PGA Championship.

Scottie Scheffler claimed No. 4 last year when he won the British Open at Royal Portrush in July. He and Koepka can further improve their legacies.

So can McIlroy.

“I said at the start of the weekend here I felt like the grand slam was the destination, and I realized it wasn't,” McIlroy said. “I'm on this journey to ... I don't know, I just won my sixth major, and I feel like I'm in a really good spot with my game and my body.

“I don't want to put a number on it, but I feel like this win is just—I don't want to say a stop on the journey, but yeah, it's just a part of the journey. I still have things I want to achieve, but I still want to enjoy it as well.

“I've waited so long to win the Masters, and all of a sudden I win two in a row. So I still want to enjoy it. I've got a couple of weeks off before I go back to play competitive golf, but I don't think I'll go through that lull of motivation or the sort of things that I was feeling last year post winning this tournament.”

The LIV Golf preparation issue

In the aftermath of a relatively poor performance among LIV golfers at the Masters, there have undoubtedly been cries that the LIV format, schedule and field size have adversely affected their play.

It seems an argument based more on petty grievance about the league in general than actual data that would support it.

Sure, LIV’s globetrotting schedule was likely not ideal. Going to Riyadh, Adelaide, a two-week break and then a grueling Hong Kong-Singapore-South Africa triple could be further examined. LIV could benefit from a domestic event in the run-up to the Masters to help its players get acclimated with the time zone. But then again, players had two full weeks off between LIV’s last event and the Masters.

Are LIV’s courses not a stern enough test? It’s been argued since the beginning of LIV that the courses are not high caliber, and perhaps in some cases that is true.

But is PGA National a proper test for the Masters? Memorial Park in Houston? TPC San Antonio?

Robert MacIntyre nearly won the Texas Open and then missed the cut at the Masters. LIV’s Tyrrell Hatton played the five-tournament schedule with just a single top-10 finish and posted his best Masters finish, a tie for third, while twice shooting a career-best 66.

The reality is that only Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm entered the Masters in top form, while the majority of the top-10 players in the LIV points standings were not in the field.

DeChambeau and Rahm undoubtedly bombed and it was surprising given their recent play on LIV and their major pedigree. DeChambeau won LIV’s last two events and was had top-6 finishes in each of the past two Masters. Rahm’s tie for 28th was his worst finish since he missed the cut at the 2024 PGA Championship.

DeChambeau’s Masters missed cut was one of the tournament’s surprises. | Grace Smith-Imagn Images

Patrick Reed finished third at the Masters last year while playing a LIV schedule.

Hatton, Dustin Johnson, Rahm, Sergio Garcia and Charl Schwartzel were the only LIV players to make the cut. DeChambeau, Bubba Watson, Cam Smith (who has missed the cut in six straight majors), Tom McKibbin and Carlos Ortiz missed the cut.

It is because of the courses they played at LIV Golf? That seems like a reach.

Rahm had a poor opening-round 78 and never recovered and seemed to suggest he had issues with his swing that had nothing to do with where he played leading up to the Masters and even suggested that the unusual dry conditions were more of a factor for him.

“It’s hard to say how much I learned because I don't think we’ve ever seen a Masters this firm and I don't know how long it’s going to be until we do again,” said Rahm, who won in 2023 in rainy and cold conditions. “Both off the tee and on the greens.

“Have you ever seen looking down the property how yellow the patron areas and how brown and purple parts of the greens and fairways are? It will be a long time until we see it like this. Definitely have some things in mind for future editions where it gets to this level.”

Rahm and the rest of the LIV players next head to Mexico City for their sixth event of the year. They will also play their first U.S. event, LIV Golf Virginia, the week before the PGA Championship.

LIV Golf and the Official World Golf Ranking

LIV Golf’s inclusion in the Official World Golf Ranking began February was likely too late to allow for a lot of movement and help players qualify for the Masters this year.

It came before the first of five events and the 10 players who were in the Masters field were there via other qualification criteria instead of the top 50 OWGR cutoff two weeks ago.

But the runway of a full year of points will give some LIV players the opportunity to earn their way into the 2027 Masters either via the year-end top 50 invitation or another next spring. Players such as Elvis Smylie, Thomas Detry and David Puig are within range and a hot summer coupled with a few outside events could change the narrative for others.

Given Augusta National’s seat on the seven-member OWGR board of directors, chairman Fred Ridley was asked if he had any influence on the decision to grant points. Ridley is not a member of the board—that position is held by Augusta executive Will Jones—but clearly Ridley’s views are worth noting.

“I wouldn't say we had any particular influence on it other than the fact that Augusta National does have a seat on the board,” said Ridley of the board that is comprised of the four majors, plus the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and representative of worldwide tours. “I think what our interest is in that role is making sure that the integrity of the OWGR remains intact.

“An underlying certain purpose is to identify the best players in the world through the ranking system, which is very transparent, is very data driven.

“As it relates to LIV, the issues involved in LIV getting or not getting ranking points has been public in [OWGR chairman] Trevor Immelman's letter to LIV a while back. And several of the issues that were raised have been addressed, which resulted in LIV receiving limited points. They know what those issues are. [LIV CEO] Scott O'Neil has a copy of that letter, as I'm sure most of you do as well, and hopefully there will be efforts made to address those issues and allow them to receive more ranking points.

“The purpose of the system is to make sure the best players in the world have an opportunity to play in the best tournaments.”

Ridley was referencing the letter made public by the OWGR in February in which LIV was accredited for the first time in its five-year existence, but it was given a limited number of points with only the top 10 and ties at each LIV event receiving them.

The points for the winner have generally been in line with what a lower end PGA Tour event such as an opposite event or smaller tournament. Some weeks, it has been more than the corresponding DP World Tour event.

What’s clear is a strong run of success on LIV, such as multiple wins or top-5 finishes, will see a player make significant strides that can also lead to starts in other majors. The PGA Championship generally takes anyone within the top 100 in OWGR. The U.S. Open has a top 60 cutoff at two points in the spring and the British Open takes the top 50 eight weeks before the championship.

It will be interesting to see if LIV Golf makes any changes going into 2027 that might cause the OWGR to make points adjustments.

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