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After 17 attempts at Augusta National, Rory McIlroy finally captured the elusive green jacket, defeating Justin Rose in a dramatic sudden-death playoff to complete golf's prestigious career Grand Slam.
The 35-year-old Northern Irishman entered Sunday with a two-stroke lead over Bryson DeChambeau, but his advantage quickly evaporated after a double-bogey on the first hole. McIlroy recovered admirably, reaching 13-under and building a four-stroke cushion through the first ten holes.
"It feels incredible," McIlroy told CBS. "This is my 17th time here, and I started to wonder if it would ever be my time. The last 10 years coming here with the burden of the Grand Slam on my shoulders and trying to achieve that."
Drama unfolded at Amen Corner when McIlroy bogeyed the 11th and carded a disastrous double-bogey at the par-5 13th after his approach found Rae's Creek. "I wanted to cry for him," playing partner DeChambeau later remarked. "When you're trying to win a major championship, especially out here, Sunday of Augusta, you have to just do it and get the job done."
Another bogey at the 14th created a three-way tie with Rose and Ludvig Åberg at 10-under. McIlroy responded with incredible resolve on the 17th, nearly holing his approach shot for a tap-in birdie to reclaim the lead.
The rollercoaster continued when McIlroy bogeyed the 72nd hole, missing a critical 5-foot putt that forced a playoff after Rose dramatically birdied his final hole with a clutch 20-footer. "It's the kind of putt you dream about as a kid," Rose reflected afterward.
In the playoff, both players found the fairway on the 18th hole. Rose's approach nearly hit the flagstick before settling 15 feet away. McIlroy answered brilliantly, sticking his approach to just 4 feet.
After Rose missed his birdie attempt, McIlroy converted, unleashing years of pent-up emotion. He fell to his knees sobbing before embracing caddie Harry Diamond and finding his wife Erica and 4-year-old daughter Poppy for emotional hugs that resonated throughout the golf world.
"There was a lot of pent-up emotion that just came out on that 18th green," McIlroy said. "A moment like that makes all the years and all the close calls worth it."
With this victory, McIlroy joins the exclusive club of Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, and Tiger Woods as the only golfers to complete the career Grand Slam in the Masters era. Woods himself congratulated McIlroy on social media: "Welcome to the club @McIlroyRory. Completing the grand slam at Augusta is something special."
The significance of the moment wasn't lost on McIlroy, who earlier in the week shared an anecdote about his daughter's growing awareness of his fame. "The day after the Players, she went into school, and there's a couple of kids that had said some stuff to her, and she came home to me that day and said, 'Daddy, are you famous?'"
Now a Masters champion, McIlroy joked: "I'm sort of wondering what we are going to talk about going into next year's Masters."
