Rory McIlroy tied for the lowest final-round score in Masters history on Sunday with an 8-under 64, giving him the temporary glory of being the leader in the clubhouse with the final groups still out on the course. McIlroy, who began the day 10 strokes back of 54-hole leader and world No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler, punctuated his history-making day with a signature moment by holing out at the par-4 18th from the greenside bunker to get in at 7 under on the week.
“It’s what you dream about, right? You dream about getting yourself in position. I wasn’t quite close enough to the lead [unfortunately],” said McIlroy, who again came excruciatingly close to pulling off the long-elusive career grand slam. “… To play as well as I did today and finish like this is absolutely incredible.”
Incredibly, just moments later, McIlroy’s playing partner for Round 4, Collin Morikawa, also holed out from the bunker on No. 18 to finish his own Masters week in style. Morikawa’s birdie gave him a 5-under 67 on the day, which tied for the second-best round of the week.
As for McIlroy’s birdie, it moved him into sole possession of second place on the leaderboard and three off the pace of Scheffler. It also marked the only bogey-free round of the week, and gave him his first bogey-free round at the Masters since November 2020 when he carded a 66 in Round 2.
“This tournament never ceases to amaze,” McIlroy said. “That’s as happy as I’ve ever been on a golf course right there — just having a chance. … I’ve never heard roars like that on an 18th green. It was incredible.”
