‘This is it’: Revisiting Rory McIlroy’s Career-Defining Shots at the 2025 Masters

For a lot of us 90s kids, Rory McIlroy has been the guy for most of our golf-watching lives. That’s why it’s no surprise when many golf fans and members of the media (at times, present company included) today are prone to hyperbole when it comes to the world No. 2. That said, it’s not an exaggeration to state that, on consecutive days, on the same hole, McIlroy hit two of the best, most dramatic shots in the history of the Masters that will surely be talked about and replayed for decades to come. 

On Saturday afternoon, McIlroy held the solo lead by two shots as he stood over his ball in the fairway on the par-5 15th hole. Two days earlier in the opening round, he made the first of two closing double bogeys on No. 15 to wipe out a 4-under round to that point and seemingly derail his chances at a Green Jacket and the career Grand Slam. Resiliency was the word of the week for McIlroy, who birdied the 15th on Friday and mashed the upgrade button on Saturday thanks to a towering 6-iron that found the green just six feet from the hole to set up a clutch eagle that extended his lead to four shots.

My esteemed colleague Will Knights had this to say of the second shot on the 15th in the Fried Egg Golf Newsletter on Saturday night:

MORE: The Year of Rory

“If this were a Sunday newsletter, Rory’s shot would be seen as the shot of the tournament, the one that earned him the major title he’s been searching for his entire career. Instead, it stands as the shot of the tournament so far. It’s the shot that completed his Saturday turnaround after he stalled in the middle of an otherwise brilliant round. If you’re a romantic, this 6-iron may just serve as foreshadowing. Rory is seemingly 1-1 in big moments when pitted against the 15th hole so far during the 2025 Masters. The winner of the best-of-three series could determine who enters Butler Cabin Sunday night.”

Man, did he nail that call. Faced with a more difficult approach to the green on Sunday, around the trees lining the left side of the fairway, McIlroy’s booming 7-iron found the green and once again left a six-footer for eagle. Sure, he missed the eagle attempt this time, but he did tap in for a crucial birdie to stop the bleeding following a double bogey and bogey on Nos. 13 and 14, respectively. 

His wedge shot on the first playoff hole that led to his win will also get a lot of attention, but the story of Rory’s career cannot be told without those two approaches to the 15th green on the weekend. The first on Saturday extended his lead and gave him a much-needed buffer before his Sunday struggles. The second kept him in the tournament and provided some much-needed momentum down the closing stretch to achieve the career slam.

Like many nuts who love this game, I’ll never forget where I was when I watched Sunday’s final round, and neither will our very own Cameron Hurdus, who was in the perfect position with his camera at Augusta National to capture the iconic shot.

“From my perspective, after quite a few minutes of discussion with Harry, and the way Rory’s body language looked as he stared towards the green, there was a real sense of resignation when he pulled the club from the bag like, ‘This is it,’” Cameron said of the moment. As far as where it ranks among shots he’s seen behind the lens, “I think it is absolutely number one .. the sensation I felt watching Rory stride after his shot through my camera, followed by one of the loudest, most impassioned roars I’ve ever experienced, on a hole that has decided so many tournaments, is a moment and a feeling that I will remember forever. And it’s nice to have a photo to go along with it.”

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