The 35-year-old had been trying to add to his major trophy cabinet and clinch the green jacket since 2014 when he won the last of his four major titles, but he has consistently failed to get over the line, as his habit of coming up short in the final round of majors came back to bite him time after time.
And for many moments during a heartstopping final round at Augusta it looked like his major curse was going to strike again as he threatened to unravel and hand the title to a charging Justin Rose.
But this time, he was able to come up clutch in several key moments, delivering some of the best shots of his career to ultimately make up for his mistakes and defeat Rose in a playoff, clinching the title with a superb birdie on the first sudden-death hole.
In doing so, he became only the sixth player in history to win each of golf’s four majors – joining Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Gary Player, Gene Sarazen and Ben Hogan in an elite group – but no doubt it was finally getting over the line after 11 years of disappointment that sparked his emotional and emphatic celebrations on the 18th green.
“It feels incredible,” McIlroy said. “This is my 17th time here. I was wondering if it would ever be my time. I’m thrilled and so proud to be able to call myself a Masters champion.”
On many occasions during one of the most dramatic final days Augusta has ever seen, it looked like McIlroy was going to throw away yet another major title as his nerves got the better of him.
A double-bogey on the very first hole suggested it was going to be another one of those days, but McIlroy appeared to steady the ship superbly with birdies at the third, fourth, ninth and tenth to open up a sizable four-shot lead over the rest of the field and seemingly chart a course for glory.
But the drama was far from over. True to form, the Northern Irishman appeared to disintegrate once again as he dropped four shots in the space of four holes, a bogey at 11 followed by a disastrous second double-bogey on 13 and another dropped shot on 14.
Unfortunately, his dramatic collapse was coinciding with a historic charge from England’s Rose, who was making birdie after birdie to rocket up the leaderboard. In the blink of an eye, McIlroy’s four-shot lead was gone, with Rose taking a one-shot lead heading into the final stretch.
But unlike so many occasions in the past, this time McIlroy was able to respond, hitting one of the greatest approach shots of his career on the par-5 15th to set up a makeable eagle putt. It didn’t drop, but a birdie righted the ship, while he would produce another stunning second shot on the 17th to set up another birdie and retake the lead.
In the meantime, Rose had bounced back from a bogey at 17 with a superb closing birdie at the 18th, sinking a lengthy putt to post a superb six-under-66 and set an imposing clubhouse target on 11 under par.
McIlroy’s birdie at 17 took him back to 12 under, however, meaning he needed only a par at the last to end his major curse.
The drama wasn’t done yet, however, as the Northern Irishman again made a hash of things, finding the bunker from the fairway and failing to get up and down to squander his advantage and force a sudden-death playoff with Rose.
It looked like it was going to be another major disappointment for McIlroy, but once again, he came up clutch when he needed it most.
After Rose played a superb approach into the first playoff hole to set up a chance for birdie, McIlroy responded with another stunning shot to leave himself just three feet for a birdie of his own.
Rose couldn’t sink his putt from much further out, giving McIlroy the opportunity to snatch victory from close range. This time, he made no mistake, draining the putt to spark one of the most emotional celebrations Augusta has ever seen – a final-round 73 not coming close to telling the story of his performance.
“There was a lot of pent up emotion that came out on that 18th green,” McIlroy said. “It’s a moment like that that makes all the close calls worth it.”
“I would say it was 14 years in the making going out from 2011 and feeling I could have done something there.”
Rose had to settle for second place as his stunning 66 came up agonisingly short but the Englishman certainly played his part in making it a Masters to remember.
American Patrick Reed finished in solo third on nine under after a 69, while World No 1 Scottie Scheffler followed a shot further back in fourth after also closing with a 69.
Sungjae Im shared fifth place on seven under with Bryson DeChambeau, who started the day in the final pairing with McIlroy but faded with a 75.
