[Photo: Getty images]
Did you get much sleep last night? No, neither did we. Early alarms are an Aussie tradition unlike any other Monday morning (Sunday afternoon Augusta time) of the Masters final round. Given the anticipation for Rory McIlroy to complete the career grand slam, or Bryson DeChambeau to spoil the party, or Jason Day to grab another Aussie win at Augusta, we found ourselves restless waking every so often with the simple question, “Is it morning yet?”
Below is a live blog which our man at Augusta National, Evin Priest, with help from our Golf Digest colleagues, will update as often as we can on site.
4:27 p.m.: More mistakes off the tee at the par-5 eighth. McIlroy and DeChambeau each find the lone fairway bunker, but are both able to advance the ball up the hill into the fairway. McIlroy’s wedge finds the green, but is still about 30 feet away. DeChambeau follows up with a wedge way past the hole to about 40 feet. Both will happily take a five from there and move along to the ninth.
7:40 p.m.: Rory McIlroy has his green jacket, having just been presented it by Scottie Scheffler and Augusta National chariman Fred Ridley in Butler Cabin.
7:35 p.m. (9:35am): Rory: “I was really nervous going out.” … “Couldn’t be more proud of myself for bouncing back when I needed to.”
7:29 p.m. (9:29am): Justin Rose… “It’s more evidence that I’m doing some really good work.” … “It was pretty cool to have been able to share that moment with him, obviously I wanted to be the bad guy, but it was an incredible moment for the game of golf.”
7:23 p.m. (9:23am) Rory to his mates … “I gotta go get a green jacket.”
7:21 p.m. (9:21am): The final putt and the final call from Jim Nantz.
7:20 p.m. (9:20am): An incredible, emotional reaction from Rory. Just wonderful. A great hug with Justin Rose, the patrons screaming his name, a wonderful moment with his with Erica and daughter Poppy. This was a huge burden, it’s now been lifted. Rory McIlroy, 2025 Masters champion.
7:17 p.m. (9:17am): HE MAKES IT!! Rory McIlroy made it. He’s the Masters champion. Rory McIlroy just captured the career Grand Slam.
7:15 p.m. (9:15am): Rose missed his putt. Now it’s Rory from close range for the Mastes and the career Grand Slam.
7:10 p.m (9:10am).: Rose had 157 yards into the green and hit a good approach that rolled out to 16 feet. McIlroy hits a dart in there that hits beyond the pin and rolls back to four feet. It’s a putting contest to determine the 89th Masters.
7:05 p.m. (9:05am): Both Rose and McIlroy found the fairway on the 18th hole. Rose will be hitting first.
6:52 p.m (8:52am): RORY MISSES A SHORT PAR PUTT TO BECOME A GRAND SLAM CHAMPION. This day is absolutely bonkers! We’re headed for a playoff between McIlroy and Rose!
6:46 p.m (8:46am).: Rory’s approach shot is awful. Just awful. It’s in the bunker, from about 124 yards. He’ll need to get that up and down for the career Grand Slam. That’s all.
6:40 p.m. (8:40am): Rory McIlroy finds the fairway at 18. Tremendous drive.
6:33 p.m. (8:33am): RORY MAKES IT. Birdie at 17. He takes a one-shot lead to the 18th hole looking to put the finishing touches on the career Grand Slam. The drama … oh my ….
6:25 p.m. (8:25am): Go, go, go, go, go … Rory said. And it did. He hits an approach into the 17th green that ends about three feet. Simple amazing shot after the roller-coaster he’s been on the last hour. He needs that birdie to go down to take a one-shot lead into the final hole of the Masters.
6:21 p.m. (8:21am): For the Patrick Reed fans out there …
6:24 p.m. (8:24a.m): American golf writer Alan Shipnuck us all of us with this tweet:
6:16 p.m. (8:16a.m): Rory McIlroy missed the birdie putt on 16. So he heads to 17 tied with Justin Rose. Moments later Ludvig Aberg three-putted the 17th hole for bogey. Rose and McIlroy are at 11 under. It’s a two-horse race in the waning moments.
6:15 p.m. (8:15a.m): Justin Rose, simply amazing. He just made the Mark O’Meara putt from 20 feet on the 72nd hole for birdie to get to 11 under par and tie Rory McIlroy for the moment. Again, Rory has 10 feet on the 16th hole. Rose made 10 birdies today to shoot 66. Remember, he opened with 65 back on Thursday.
5:55 p.m. (7.55.a.m).: And now it’s tied again after Justin Rose made bogey on the 17th hole. Rose heads to the 18th hole, Rory McIlroy did NOT make the eagle putt on the 15th instead a birdie to get to 11-under and oh, by the way, Ludvig Aberg birdied the 15th hole to get to 10 under. So much going on … so very much.
5:45 p.m (7.45a.m.).: Rory just hit the shot of a lifetime. A beautiful sweeping hook 7-iron from behind trees for his second into the par-5 15th. It settled to four feat from the pin for eagle. This could be the moment. He’s 10-under and tied for the lead with Justin Rose and Ludvig Aberg.
5:41 p.m (7.41a.m.).: And we now have a tied ballgame. McIlroy was three shots ahead. He made double bogey on the 13th after laying up and hitting his wedge shot and mere moments later Justin Rose made birdie from five feet on 16 and both men are tied for the lead at 11 under par. Jason Day is seven-under through the par-5 15th.
5:13 p.m. (7.13a.m.): DeChambeau, from the middle of the fairway, finds the water at 11. He was already five behind McIlroy, and barring something borderline miraculous (or disastrous), that’ll do it for him at the 2025 Masters. McIlroy flirted with the water himself, playing a low shot through the trio of pines in the right side of the fairway that stopped just short of rolling into the drink. His chip shot isn’t particularly close and he missed the birdie putt to drop to 13-under, but his chasers aren’t putting much pressure on him. Rose bogeys the 14th to fall back to nine-under. DeChambeau makes a double bogey to fall to seven-under, six behind McIlroy. McIlroy’s lead is five headed to the 12th tee.
4.58p.m. (6.58a.m.): BOOM! RORY MCILROY BIRDIES the par-4 10th, his nemesis hole in 2011, to take a FOUR-SHOT LEAD at 14-under! Justin Rose 10-under and Aberg and DeChambeau at nine-under. Final group now on the 11th. Jason Day is through 11 holes at seven-under. Looks to be over for our Aussie hope.
4:31 p.m.(6.58a.m.): The final group played the ninth with Rory making birdie to climb to 13-under, while Bryson made par to stay at nine-under. Ahead at the 11th, first-round leader Justin Rose drains a bomb for birdie to get to eight-under before another at the 12th to get to nine-under. He gave several big fist pumps to the crowds at Amen Corner. At the ninth, 2018 Masters winner Patrick Reed makes a birdie to get to eight-under as well. McIlroy is four clear of DeChambeau, but there are eight players within three strokes of DeChambeau.
4:25 p.m. (6.25a.m. AEST): Jason Day has climbed to seven-under-par through nine holes of the final round. Can he produce a back-nine miracle??
CLICK HERE FOR FULL MASTERS COVERAGE:
4:10 p.m (6.10a.m Monday AEST):: Well that was … something. McIlroy, fighting a two-way miss off the tee finds himself in the trees left of the seventh fairway but launches an iron over the trees to about eight feet. Meanwhile, DeChambeau, who hit a laser right down the middle, leaves his approach in the front bunker. From above the hole, McIlroy leaves his birdie bid short, which seems impossible. DeChambeau plays the slope of the green perfectly out of the bunker two a couple feet and makes par.
3.45p.m. (5.45a.m Monday AEST): Double update for the Australians. Min Woo Lee shot 74 to finish a disappointing six-over-par. Jason Day is in contention although six back of leader, Rory McIlroy. Day birdied the par-4 fifth to climb to six-under.
3.45p.m. (5.45a.m Monday AEST): After the final group of Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau teed off at 2.30p.m. (4.30am Monday AEST), McIlroy sucked the air out of the tournament by double-bogeying the first hole, dropping to a tie for the lead at 10-under with DeChambeau. When the LIV golfer birdied the par-5 second and McIlroy didn’t – he drove it into his second straight fairway bunker – DeChambeau led at 11-under. But when McIlroy hit a brilliant drive on the par-4 third, and then a delicate pitch, he made birdie while DeChambeau three-putted for bogey. McIlroy then hit a pearler of a tee shot at the par-3 fourth and took it to 12-under and three shots ahead of DeChambeau. That leaves us where we are through five holes. McIlroy 12-under, DeChambeau nine-under and Aberg eight-under.
9:43 a.m (11.43a.m. Sunday AEST). — We’re off as Brian Campbell, a Masters rookie, walks up the first fairway with Augusta National member Michael McDermott, who serves as a marker to keep Campbell from playing as a single. Our own Alex Myers wrote up this post on McDermott on Saturday that serves as a primer for the man’s unique duties at the Masters.
