2025 Masters Thread - Was: Collin Morikawa will TIE FOR 14th at The Masters (2 Viewers)

[gump]

Despite the 2 bad wedges on 13 and 18, Rory's driver was the big problem yesterday. But he won it with his iron play...3, 9, 10, 16...and the memorable 9-iron at 7 and the 7-iron at 15.

 

[SWC]

whatever his wedge was coming in on the playoff hole wasnt too darned bad either gumphan take that to the bank

 

[falguy]

and the 7-iron at 15.

The angle from behind him was so cool. To play that huge draw at that moment, just wow!

 

[UncleZen]

whatever his wedge was coming in on the playoff hole wasnt too darned bad either gumphan take that to the bank

That was the same one he hit into the bunker the previous time playing that hole.

 

[Zow]

and the 7-iron at 15.

The angle from behind him was so cool. To play that huge draw at that moment, just wow!

Rare do you hit a difficult shot exactly how you wanted to. That had to feel so good.

I texted "flushed" to like 3 golf text thread groups when he hit that.

 

[The Gator]

I texted "flushed" to like 3 golf text thread groups when he hit that.

Could have also sent that after the wedge shot, but for other reasons...

 

[belljr]

At aristocrat posted that after he dropped his fork

 

[gump]

Vague viewer numbers from TGC...20M TV viewers at peak, most in 7 years for golf...plus the highest rated Paramount+ live sports stream outside of the NFL.

 

[Grahamburn]

Went on Saturday. Just an incredible experience. The amount of people there is absolutely insane. I can see why so many post up chairs all over because the walk is BRUTAL.

Notable current/former NFLers in attendance:

Trevor Lawrence
Eli Manning
Tiki Barber
Saquon Barkley
Russell Wilson and Ciara
Matt Ryan
Ryan Fitzpatrick

I’m sure many others but we saw these guys.

We got the Map and Flag Hospitality package. Complimentary food and beverage just outside Augusta National. Great spot to relax before/during/after going into the tournament with their own merch shop. If you get the chance I highly recommend it. So choice.

 

[3C's]

Where does this one rank all time in Master's Tournaments?

 

[Uruk-Hai]

Where does this one rank all time in Master's Tournaments?

Way up there for me. For pure "ok, I have no clue who's gonna win" entertainment, it's hard to top this one.

 

[3C's]

Where does this one rank all time in Master's Tournaments?

Way up there for me. For pure "ok, I have no clue who's gonna win" entertainment, it's hard to top this one.

Yeah, I'm no Masters historian but I said elsewhere it's top 5 and could crack the top 2; someone replied that I was on crack.

 

[Capella]

A friend went to Sunday’s round and got me the watch from the store. What a great thing to have from this Masters. Said there was only 3 left when she got it.

 

[Zow]

Where does this one rank all time in Master's Tournaments?

I think we need to give it a few years. In my lifetime of actual golf watching (let's say last 20 years), Tiger 2019 was the best for me and it probably isn't close.* No offense to Rory, but it seemed even less probable that Tiger would get another major and he arguably played better than Rory did overall to win. I also wasn't paying any attention at all to golf when Tiger set the scoring record in 1997 but remember hearing all about it so that has to be up there. Further, while I was a literal baby when it happened, Jack in 86 I'm sure ranks ahead of Rory.

Also up there has to be Sarazen's hole out - though unfortunately essentially nobody got to see it. Finally, Phil in 2004 (I did watch this one) was pretty great as Phil was well liked at the time and hadn't won one yet.

Gun to my head, I put this year's Masters at 6th behind:

86 Nicklaus
2019 Tiger
1997 Tiger
1935 Sarazen
2004 Phil
2025 Rory

Honorable mention: Lee Elder winning with all the race issues at play.


*Personally, I did really enjoy the 2021 Masters because I won a massive Masters pool to the tune of 5 figures.

 

[Zow]

Where does this one rank all time in Master's Tournaments?

Way up there for me. For pure "ok, I have no clue who's gonna win" entertainment, it's hard to top this one.

Yeah, I'm no Masters historian but I said elsewhere it's top 5 and could crack the top 2; someone replied that I was on crack.

I don't think you're on crack and could see it maybe landing at third best ever, but I can't see it topping 1986 and 2019.

 

[Zeppelin]

For me Nicklaus in 1986 will probably always be #1. But Rory's my #2 because of how he kept himself together and kept fighting back through all the adversity and enormous pressure he was under. I think everyone was waiting for Rory to come unglued and he never did. There were so many ups and downs on that back 9. What an amazing tournament.

After that for me would be Tiger's last win, Ben Crenshaw winning when his mentor died, and Mickelson's first.

 

[BlackCrowes]

Where does this one rank all time in Master's Tournaments?

I think we need to give it a few years. In my lifetime of actual golf watching (let's say last 20 years), Tiger 2019 was the best for me and it probably isn't close.* No offense to Rory, but it seemed even less probably that Tiger would get another major and he arguably played better than Rory did overall to win. I also wasn't paying any attention at all to golf when Tiger set the scoring record in 1997 so that has to be up there. Further, while I was essentially a literal baby when it happened, Jack in 86 I'm sure ranks ahead of Rory.

Also up there has to be Sarazen's hole out - though basically nobody got to see it. Finally, Phil in 2004 (I did watch this one) was pretty great as Phil was well liked at the time and hadn't won one yet.

Gun to my head, I put this year's Masters at 6th behind:

86 Nicklaus
2019 Tiger
1997 Tiger
1935 Sarazen
2004 Micklaus
2025 Rory

Honorable mention: Lee Elder winning with all the race issues at play.


*Personally, I did really enjoy the 2021 Masters because I won a massive Masters pool to the tune of 5 figures.

hard to rank things i couldn't see, so i wouldn't include '35. I'd put Rory ahead of Mickelson, and might throw in Crenshaw's 2nd win, but other than that i think you got it.

 

[gump]

Top 3 for me, especially because I’ll never forget what I was doing at the time:

Jack ‘86 - watching w my dad
Tiger ‘19 - watching w my dad (final time) and 2yo son
Rory ‘25 - watching w my 7yo son, 5yo son, and two 7yo golfing buddies, as they ran back and forth between golf in the yard and TV…while chanting ‘Rory, Rory’’

 

[Zow]

Where does this one rank all time in Master's Tournaments?

I think we need to give it a few years. In my lifetime of actual golf watching (let's say last 20 years), Tiger 2019 was the best for me and it probably isn't close.* No offense to Rory, but it seemed even less probably that Tiger would get another major and he arguably played better than Rory did overall to win. I also wasn't paying any attention at all to golf when Tiger set the scoring record in 1997 so that has to be up there. Further, while I was essentially a literal baby when it happened, Jack in 86 I'm sure ranks ahead of Rory.

Also up there has to be Sarazen's hole out - though basically nobody got to see it. Finally, Phil in 2004 (I did watch this one) was pretty great as Phil was well liked at the time and hadn't won one yet.

Gun to my head, I put this year's Masters at 6th behind:

86 Nicklaus
2019 Tiger
1997 Tiger
1935 Sarazen
2004 Micklaus
2025 Rory

Honorable mention: Lee Elder winning with all the race issues at play.


*Personally, I did really enjoy the 2021 Masters because I won a massive Masters pool to the tune of 5 figures.

hard to rank things i couldn't see, so i wouldn't include '35. I'd put Rory ahead of Mickelson, and might throw in Crenshaw's 2nd win, but other than that i think you got it.

Yeah I think this is going to be the close call and it'll probably take ten years or so for it to be evident.

 

[Zow]

For me Nicklaus in 1986 will probably always be #1. But Rory's my #2 because of how he kept himself together and kept fighting back through all the adversity and enormous pressure he was under. I think everyone was waiting for Rory to come unglued and he never did. There were so many ups and downs on that back 9. What an amazing tournament.

After that for me would be Tiger's last win, Ben Crenshaw winning when his mentor died, and Mickelson's first.

Oh he came unglued multiple times - he just somehow amazingly was able to get the glue back into the bottle.

 

[General Malaise]

Where does this one rank all time in Master's Tournaments?

I got to watch the final round with my 80 year old dad - we went to BWW's, sat in the bar and the manager thought I was crazy asking her to put the sound of a golf tournament on their sound system, but she relented. It didn't take long for the entire restaurant to become enthralled. My dad and I weren't going to stay too long as I was hosting dinner, but we didn't dare leave. Dinner could wait! Riveting drama and I'm so glad I got to share it with my old man. Not sure how many more of these we've got together.

He texted me yesterday: "Yesterday was alot of fun!" He's generally a pretty stoic man, so that's a pretty expressive text for him.

 

[Cowboysfan8]

think everyone was waiting for Rory to come unglued and he never did.

He came unglued lol, but he got away with it by hitting a few beautiful shots

nm, Zow covered it

 

[3C's]

Where does this one rank all time in Master's Tournaments?

I think we need to give it a few years. In my lifetime of actual golf watching (let's say last 20 years), Tiger 2019 was the best for me and it probably isn't close.* No offense to Rory, but it seemed even less probable that Tiger would get another major and he arguably played better than Rory did overall to win. I also wasn't paying any attention at all to golf when Tiger set the scoring record in 1997 but remember hearing all about it so that has to be up there. Further, while I was a literal baby when it happened, Jack in 86 I'm sure ranks ahead of Rory.

Also up there has to be Sarazen's hole out - though unfortunately essentially nobody got to see it. Finally, Phil in 2004 (I did watch this one) was pretty great as Phil was well liked at the time and hadn't won one yet.

Gun to my head, I put this year's Masters at 6th behind:

86 Nicklaus
2019 Tiger
1997 Tiger
1935 Sarazen
2004 Phil
2025 Rory

Honorable mention: Lee Elder winning with all the race issues at play.


*Personally, I did really enjoy the 2021 Masters because I won a massive Masters pool to the tune of 5 figures.

For me, 1997 would be a great tournament for Tiger, but not necessarily a great tournament overall. And this one for me > Phil.

 

[3 hour lunch]

For me Nicklaus in 1986 will probably always be #1. But Rory's my #2 because of how he kept himself together and kept fighting back through all the adversity and enormous pressure he was under. I think everyone was waiting for Rory to come unglued and he never did. There were so many ups and downs on that back 9. What an amazing tournament.

After that for me would be Tiger's last win, Ben Crenshaw winning when his mentor died, and Mickelson's first.

Oh he came unglued multiple times - he just somehow amazingly was able to get the glue back into the bottle.

It can’t really be overstated how poor the shot at 13 was. Incredible, really. When I get nervous on the golf course sometimes the more difficult shots are “easier” because you still have to swing hard and commit. The more straightforward shots can become more difficult because you overthink it and decelerate, etc. Seems like Rory was perhaps dealing with that as well.

 

[Senor Schmutzig]

I was glad to share that experience with my 20-year-old son. He texted me on Thursday and asked what I was doing over the weekend. It was Father's weekend at his fraternity, and he wanted me to come upto Tallahassee. Granted, he waited until the day before to ask me, but I was there!

I almost missed my flight back home due to the extra play, but I wouldn't miss that ending after we were jumping up and down and screaming pretty much the whole second nine.

That was awesome and I'm glad I got to experience it with him. We had fun, just the two of us.

He has gotten into golf a lot more over the past few years, so I'm happy we can share that going forward.

 

[Zeppelin]

For me Nicklaus in 1986 will probably always be #1. But Rory's my #2 because of how he kept himself together and kept fighting back through all the adversity and enormous pressure he was under. I think everyone was waiting for Rory to come unglued and he never did. There were so many ups and downs on that back 9. What an amazing tournament.

After that for me would be Tiger's last win, Ben Crenshaw winning when his mentor died, and Mickelson's first.

Oh he came unglued multiple times - he just somehow amazingly was able to get the glue back into the bottle.

It can’t really be overstated how poor the shot at 13 was. Incredible, really. When I get nervous on the golf course sometimes the more difficult shots are “easier” because you still have to swing hard and commit. The more straightforward shots can become more difficult because you overthink it and decelerate, etc. Seems like Rory was perhaps dealing with that as well.

When I said Rory never came unglued and @Zow corrected me (he was correct by the way), what I really should have said instead was that he didn't completely fall apart like he has in the past. The shot you mentioned was the point where I thought it might be that point.

 

[Zow]

For me Nicklaus in 1986 will probably always be #1. But Rory's my #2 because of how he kept himself together and kept fighting back through all the adversity and enormous pressure he was under. I think everyone was waiting for Rory to come unglued and he never did. There were so many ups and downs on that back 9. What an amazing tournament.

After that for me would be Tiger's last win, Ben Crenshaw winning when his mentor died, and Mickelson's first.

Oh he came unglued multiple times - he just somehow amazingly was able to get the glue back into the bottle.

It can’t really be overstated how poor the shot at 13 was. Incredible, really. When I get nervous on the golf course sometimes the more difficult shots are “easier” because you still have to swing hard and commit. The more straightforward shots can become more difficult because you overthink it and decelerate, etc. Seems like Rory was perhaps dealing with that as well.

For sure - my personal experience is the same. That's why I chuckle a bit inside my head when Rory got all the praise for that brilliantly high drawn 7 iron that he hit. Obviously that's a tough shot, but mentally that's an easier task than, say, a four-footer that I know I should make.

 

[Zow]

Where does this one rank all time in Master's Tournaments?

I think we need to give it a few years. In my lifetime of actual golf watching (let's say last 20 years), Tiger 2019 was the best for me and it probably isn't close.* No offense to Rory, but it seemed even less probable that Tiger would get another major and he arguably played better than Rory did overall to win. I also wasn't paying any attention at all to golf when Tiger set the scoring record in 1997 but remember hearing all about it so that has to be up there. Further, while I was a literal baby when it happened, Jack in 86 I'm sure ranks ahead of Rory.

Also up there has to be Sarazen's hole out - though unfortunately essentially nobody got to see it. Finally, Phil in 2004 (I did watch this one) was pretty great as Phil was well liked at the time and hadn't won one yet.

Gun to my head, I put this year's Masters at 6th behind:

86 Nicklaus
2019 Tiger
1997 Tiger
1935 Sarazen
2004 Phil
2025 Rory

Honorable mention: Lee Elder winning with all the race issues at play.


*Personally, I did really enjoy the 2021 Masters because I won a massive Masters pool to the tune of 5 figures.

For me, 1997 would be a great tournament for Tiger, but not necessarily a great tournament overall. And this one for me > Phil.

Yeah like I said I think the ceiling for the 2025 Masters is the third best ever as I can certainly see the argument. I truly don't think it ever surpasses 1986 or 2019 though.

 

[Grahamburn]

For me Nicklaus in 1986 will probably always be #1. But Rory's my #2 because of how he kept himself together and kept fighting back through all the adversity and enormous pressure he was under. I think everyone was waiting for Rory to come unglued and he never did. There were so many ups and downs on that back 9. What an amazing tournament.

After that for me would be Tiger's last win, Ben Crenshaw winning when his mentor died, and Mickelson's first.

Oh he came unglued multiple times - he just somehow amazingly was able to get the glue back into the bottle.

It can’t really be overstated how poor the shot at 13 was. Incredible, really. When I get nervous on the golf course sometimes the more difficult shots are “easier” because you still have to swing hard and commit. The more straightforward shots can become more difficult because you overthink it and decelerate, etc. Seems like Rory was perhaps dealing with that as well.

When I said Rory never came unglued and @Zow corrected me (he was correct by the way), what I really should have said instead was that he didn't completely fall apart like he has in the past. The shot you mentioned was the point where I thought it might be that point.

I would say he definitely did fall apart, but nobody was really in position to take advantage.

The shot he hit on 13 was atrocious. You could let him hit it from there 100 times and he wouldn’t make that error under normal conditions.

Then the slew of short putts missed again.

All nerves. Being someone who fights the yips under pressure I was rooting for him hard.

But, the constant other clutch shots as well.

Crazy roller coaster ride.

 

[General Malaise]

For me Nicklaus in 1986 will probably always be #1. But Rory's my #2 because of how he kept himself together and kept fighting back through all the adversity and enormous pressure he was under. I think everyone was waiting for Rory to come unglued and he never did. There were so many ups and downs on that back 9. What an amazing tournament.

After that for me would be Tiger's last win, Ben Crenshaw winning when his mentor died, and Mickelson's first.

Oh he came unglued multiple times - he just somehow amazingly was able to get the glue back into the bottle.

It can’t really be overstated how poor the shot at 13 was. Incredible, really. When I get nervous on the golf course sometimes the more difficult shots are “easier” because you still have to swing hard and commit. The more straightforward shots can become more difficult because you overthink it and decelerate, etc. Seems like Rory was perhaps dealing with that as well.

When I said Rory never came unglued and @Zow corrected me (he was correct by the way), what I really should have said instead was that he didn't completely fall apart like he has in the past. The shot you mentioned was the point where I thought it might be that point.

I would say he definitely did fall apart, but nobody was really in position to take advantage.

The shot he hit on 13 was atrocious. You could let him hit it from there 100 times and he wouldn’t make that error under normal conditions.

Then the slew of short putts missed again.

All nerves. Being someone who fights the yips under pressure I was rooting for him hard.

But, the constant other clutch shots as well.

Crazy roller coaster ride.

Rorycoaster.

 

[Zow]

For me Nicklaus in 1986 will probably always be #1. But Rory's my #2 because of how he kept himself together and kept fighting back through all the adversity and enormous pressure he was under. I think everyone was waiting for Rory to come unglued and he never did. There were so many ups and downs on that back 9. What an amazing tournament.

After that for me would be Tiger's last win, Ben Crenshaw winning when his mentor died, and Mickelson's first.

Oh he came unglued multiple times - he just somehow amazingly was able to get the glue back into the bottle.

It can’t really be overstated how poor the shot at 13 was. Incredible, really. When I get nervous on the golf course sometimes the more difficult shots are “easier” because you still have to swing hard and commit. The more straightforward shots can become more difficult because you overthink it and decelerate, etc. Seems like Rory was perhaps dealing with that as well.

When I said Rory never came unglued and @Zow corrected me (he was correct by the way), what I really should have said instead was that he didn't completely fall apart like he has in the past. The shot you mentioned was the point where I thought it might be that point.

I would say he definitely did fall apart, but nobody was really in position to take advantage.

The shot he hit on 13 was atrocious. You could let him hit it from there 100 times and he wouldn’t make that error under normal conditions.

Then the slew of short putts missed again.

All nerves. Being someone who fights the yips under pressure I was rooting for him hard.

But, the constant other clutch shots as well.

Crazy roller coaster ride.

Rorycoaster.

Rory is not boring.

 

[FreeBaGeL]

Then the slew of short putts missed again.

All nerves. Being someone who fights the yips under pressure I was rooting for him hard.

Part of this is just that this is generally a weak part of his game whether it's a clutch situation or not. He's 138th on tour in putting under 10 feet this year. Last year he did have a good year in that metric finishing just inside the top 20, but most years he is outside of the top 70.

That's why the whole clutch thing is so difficult sometimes. He hit some of the most clutch shots in Masters history, and also some of the "chokiest". How can someone be both clutch and choke at the same time?

I think the easier answer is just that he hit his strong clubs well and his weak clubs poorly, with some general variation where some days you just don't have a certain club (like Driver).

For Rory, like Scottie, he's just not a great putter overall. It's just that the other parts of their games are so good they can overcome that. But even when they're winning and playing well, they're often giving up strokes with the putter.

 

[BobbyLayne]

Where does this one rank all time in Master's Tournaments?

I think we need to give it a few years. In my lifetime of actual golf watching (let's say last 20 years), Tiger 2019 was the best for me and it probably isn't close.* No offense to Rory, but it seemed even less probable that Tiger would get another major and he arguably played better than Rory did overall to win. I also wasn't paying any attention at all to golf when Tiger set the scoring record in 1997 but remember hearing all about it so that has to be up there. Further, while I was a literal baby when it happened, Jack in 86 I'm sure ranks ahead of Rory.

Also up there has to be Sarazen's hole out - though unfortunately essentially nobody got to see it. Finally, Phil in 2004 (I did watch this one) was pretty great as Phil was well liked at the time and hadn't won one yet.

Gun to my head, I put this year's Masters at 6th behind:

86 Nicklaus
2019 Tiger
1997 Tiger
1935 Sarazen
2004 Phil
2025 Rory

Honorable mention: Lee Elder winning with all the race issues at play.


*Personally, I did really enjoy the 2021 Masters because I won a massive Masters pool to the tune of 5 figures.

1975 Masters is probably #2 for me. Nicklaus draining a 40 footer at 16 with Miller & Weiskopf watching from the tee was incredible. Won by 1 stroke, both had makeable birdie putts just miss on 18.

Although I too immensely enjoyed Tiger’s 2019 unexpected win, nothing will likely ever top 1986. There’s a short book called The Greatest Masters which is terrific at detailing an incredible week of golf:

• Price had a 63 on Saturday
• Seve was locking horns with the PGA commissioner (#1 in OWGR, suspended for not playing enough PGA events)
• Ballesteros and Kite both holed out wedges for eagle back-to-back on 8 on Sunday
• the Spaniard led most of the week before dunking his ball twice on the back 9
• Jack had his incredible 7 under over the last 10 holes with his oldest son on the bag
• Norman birdied 14-17 and was in position A on 18 before sailing his approach into the gallery

1935 - the albatross is a big part of the history & lore but I’ve heard maybe 20 people saw it, tournament concluded with a Monday 18 hole playoff

2004 - definitely up there, I remember describing the moment to my gf (who was at a church function) live over the phone, she was yelling out my play by play to a crowd of people, and after Phil sank his putt they all erupted

1997 - incredible seismic societal moment; what I’ll always remember is how everyone at the office - notably anyone BIPOC & non sports fan, as well as avid players - talking about it well into the middle of the week, it was amazing

every one of Woods’ 5 wins has been joyful for me, for different reasons

• 2001 - completed the Tiger Slam, 4 straight majors, never been done or approached
• 2002 - back-to-back, with ease
• 2005 - rain delay, on the back 9 of the 3rd round (played Sunday a.m.) Tiger went from 4 down to Chris DiMarco to up by 3, then the famous In your life have you seen anything like that!? chip-in, then CD tying Woods when he was 2 down with 2 to play by sinking a 10’ putt on the 72nd hole, then the (somewhat anticlimactic) 1-hole playoff when Tiger ended it with a 15 foot birdie putt

I like a lot of different sports, but I don’t think any athlete has brought me more thrills than Tiger. Huge fan of Jack and Arnie, but Woods was a whole other level of dominance. Barry Sanders is a close second but none of his incredible runs were part of a championship.

 

[BobbyLayne]

@gump @Zow

$12 on Amazon

The Greatest Masters: The 1986 Masters and Golf's Elite​

159 pages - great little read you can finish quickly

 

[CGRdrJoe]

2019 is #1 for me and it's not even close, in fact it's the only time I can remember in the past 10 years that I haven't played golf on the morning of the final round. There was no way I was gonna miss even a shot with Tiger just a few shots off the lead and the tee times moved up.

This weekend was cool and all but I watched the leaders tee off from my phone at the end of my morning round and watched the last 5 holes and playoff from my phone during an afternoon round. Cool story and nice to hit a +550 bet on Rory but not must watch every shot worthy for me.

 

[Joe Bryant]

Don't give up.

https://x.com/McIlroyRory/status/1912518834428232167