PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla.—How appropriate that Rory McIlroy claimed his second PGA Tour win this season on St. Patrick’s Day. Talk about a perfect alignment between Ireland’s patron saint and its most celebrated golfer.
The 35-year-old garnered his second Players Championship in an aggregate playoff win over J.J. Spaun. McIlroy had started Sunday’s final round four shots behind Spaun but quickly cut into that margin with a birdie-eagle start on the first two holes of play.
It appeared McIlroy would win in the regulation 72 holes, but a bogey at the 14th coupled with two late-round birdies by Spaun over the closing stretch of holes prompted the two to be tied at 276 (-12) for the championship. Spaun nearly won the prestigious title, but his 30-foot birdie putt on the final hole stopped just inches short of the cup.
McIlroy started 2025 as the third-ranked player in the world. His most recent win now pushes him to the second slot behind Scottie Scheffler. The first prize check of $4.5 million provides plenty of “green” on of all days, St. Patrick’s.
Matters were settled quickly in the aggregate playoff played on holes 16–18 of the Stadium Course. McIlroy easily birdied the par-5 16th after reaching the green in two shots with a pitching wedge, and although he bogeyed the famed island-surrounded par-3 17th, he was aided by a crucial blunder by Spaun when his 8-iron shot found a watery grave after his approach shot flew the green.
McIlroy concluded play with a final hole bogey score of 13 which Spaun could not equal.
The victory marked McIlroy’s 28th PGA Tour title and came against the strongest field in professional golf. Earlier this year, he captured the prestigious AT&T event at Pebble Beach by two shots over fellow countryman Shane Lowry.
Interestingly, McIlroy joins Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, and Scottie Scheffler as the only golfers to have won multiple Players and major championships.
McIlroy’s win now sets in motion the central unanswered question that has dogged him for nearly 11 years—when will he finally add to his total of four major championships?
The last major victory came in the 2014 PGA Championship at Valhalla. At the time, McIlroy was 25 years old—becoming just the third golfer besides Nicklaus and Woods to have claimed four major titles by that age.
Many opined that more major triumphs were likely and the talented Northern Irishman could well finish up with a double-digit total of major wins—a feat accomplished by only four golfers—Nicklaus, Woods, Bob Jones, and Walter Hagen.
But there is accumulated scar tissue from past failures. Memories of his late-round meltdown at the 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst still resonate. McIlroy’s putting stumbles at the very end of that final round caused him to bolt off the property in frustration—an action he quickly atoned for the next day.
There was also his inability to close out The Open Championship in 2022 at The Old Course at St. Andrews. McIlroy was tied for the lead with one round to play and four shots ahead of the eventual winner Cameron Smith before being outplayed by the Aussie’s 64 to his round of 70.
Nothing would demonstrate a more emphatic statement in exorcising all those past failures than McIlroy ending his major-less streak with a win at this year’s Masters.
Memories of his meltdown from the 2011 event are still present when McIlroy entered the final nine holes by starting the back nine with the lead before a badly hooked tee shot at the 10th began his descent and ended with a woeful score of 80.
In the 10 years since his last major win, the McIlroy record at Augusta includes six top-10 placements. However, in the past two years, he missed the cut in 2023 and T22 in 2024.
The win at TPC Sawgrass came about even with McIlroy not playing his best. For the tournament, he hit only 30 of 58 fairways. During Saturday’s blustery 3rd round, he kept himself within striking distance—helped by a closing birdie at the 18th.
“By no means did I have my best stuff this week,” McIlroy told reporters. “But I was still able to win one of the biggest tournaments in the world. That’s a huge thing.”
McIlroy’s resilience has been his greatest strength. Many players who have experienced such agonizing close calls would quickly fade from view. That’s not the case here.
“It doesn’t feel like I’m making those mistakes at the critical times like I was previously. I think a big part of that was just learning from those mistakes,” McIlroy said. “It’s a long career. You have to stay incredibly patient. I would say that some of those losses have helped me learn what to do when I’m in those positions again.”
Closing out tournaments—particularly major championships—is the toughest hurdle to overcome in professional golf.
McIlroy has seen a number of rivals—Scheffler specifically and the recent major double wins in 2024 by Xander Schauffele—and realizes past performances don’t ensure future successes.
The slavish attention to detail and the passionate desire to improve are still present for him.
McIlroy’s mindset following the final round Sunday was not exasperation but quiet resolve in looking forward to Monday’s playoff.
The sum total of how many majors a player wins is acknowledged by McIlroy. It’s those four events that ultimately determine one’s final legacy in the sport.
Earlier in the year, McIlroy stated a few important goals he wanted to achieve. A win at Augusta would not only end the major-less streak but place him in membership of the most elite of clubs—a career Grand Slam member. Only five have ever achieved that, including Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Nicklaus, and Woods.
A Masters winning moment would bring McIlroy a fitting end to one streak and a likely springboard for other majors to win. The balance of 2025 includes favorable sites with the PGA Championship played at Quail Hollow in North Carolina—a site where he has won multiple times during the Wells Fargo event.
Then there is the U.S. Open at Oakmont where the roster of past champions is loaded with clear Hall-of-Famers like himself. And then The Open Championship returns to Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland. The event was held there in 2019, and McIlroy started play with a miserable 79 that included hitting his first tee shot out-of-bounds. Even though he rebounded the next day with a fine 65, the end result was a missed cut on home turf.
The pressure will undoubtedly rise at the Masters. The questions will be asked of McIlroy for the umpteenth time.
Winning a prestigious event like The Players Championship on St. Patrick’s Day could well be the momentum builder for an even more remarkable year. McIlroy is a proud Irishman, and he knows how fickle luck can be in a sport where confidence can rise and fall with the fate of one key golf swing.
The Irish expression “donkey’s years” refers to an extended period of time. And that is no animal McIlroy wishes to be continually associated with. His career exploded onto the scene as a young professional—highly touted for true greatness. By age 25, it seemed he was on the launching pad for an ultimate intersection with the game’s greatest players.
In nearly 11 years since his last major victory, McIlroy has stayed at the very top of his profession. Other stars have appeared at various times, but now the mountain of Scheffler remains an obstacle to surpass.
There’s no question the Rory story contains more chapters to be written. If ultimate glory is indeed his final destination, the wherewithal to secure more major championships will shape how his career is ultimately measured and assessed.
A Masters win will propel him into discussion with the next level of Hall-of-Famers with the likes of Lee Trevino, Phil Mickelson, Seve Ballesteros, and Nick Faldo.
McIlroy’s St. Patrick’s moment was a green moment in all senses. But there’s a specific fashion statement he would savor the most—a fitting green jacket.
Augusta awaits.
