McIlroy’s Dramatic Masters Win Will Boost CBS—and PGA Tour

The trajectory of the dueling PGA Tour and LIV Golf may have shifted forever after Rory McIlroy’s heart-stopping win at the 2025 Masters Tournament.

The PGA Tour may be more vital and well-positioned financially after its standard-bearer defeated Justin Rose in sudden-death overtime to complete his fourth and final leg of the majors Grand Slam.

The coverage on CBS proved to be riveting, white-knuckle television, offering the most storybook Masters finish since Tiger Woods won his fifth and in all likelihood final Masters in 2019. The Rory Coaster seemed to be cruising to victory–only to seemingly run off the rails at No. 13. But McIlroy rebounded with what Jim Nantz called the “shot of a lifetime” on No. 15. Despite missing a short put on No. 18 for the win, he refocused and beat Rose on the first hole of overtime.

Meanwhile, the likes of Rose, defending champion Scottie Scheffler, and 2018 champ Patrick Reed took dead aim at McIlroy all day. Fittingly, Sunday’s shootout took place on the 50th anniversary of one of the great Augusta National Golf Club duels of all time: the Jack Nicklaus one-shot win over Hall of Famers Johnny Miller and the late Tom Weiskopf in 1975.

Nantz was on his A game. He and partner Trevor Immelman rode the McIlory roller-coaster all weekend as the Northern Irishman flipped between Woods-like brilliance and Greg Norman–esque struggles. It had been nearly 11 years since McIlroy’s last major victory. When his winning putt rolled in, Nantz noted the entire world seemed to finally take a breath. And CBS could bask in the glory of one of the most memorable Sundays in the tournament’s 89-year history.

“The long journey is over. McIlroy has his masterpiece,” intoned Nantz after McIlroy dropped the winning putt. 

From a TV standpoint, the images broadcast to millions of viewers were incredible. When McIlroy finally slayed the Masters monster, there were no formal handshakes and polite nods of the cap. Instead, the 35-year-old superstar broke down in tears and seemed to hyperventilate as he hugged everybody and anybody. The mostly American crowd chanted “Rory, Rory, Rory.” Finally, McIlroy embraced his pals from Ireland. When they asked him to linger around the 18th green, he delivered the line of the telecast: “I’ve got to go get a green jacket.”

Italian movie director Federico Fellini could not have offered more starkly symbolic images on Sunday. Here was McIlroy, the biggest star on the PGA Tour outside of the injured Woods, literally and figuratively taking down LIV’s heaviest hitter, Bryson DeChambeau. In a mano a mano duel under the Georgia sun, DeChambeau blinked and McIlroy didn’t. It was sweet revenge for McIlroy, and the Tour, after DeChambeau took him down at the 2024 U.S. Open. The long-hitting DeChambeau finished tied for fifth, four strokes behind. LIV’s Patrick Reed ended up third after a strong final round.

Like McIlroy, DeChambeau was seeking his first Masters victory, which would have been the third time an active LIV player has won a major championship since the rival league launched in 2022. In addition to DeChambeau’s U.S. Open last year, Brooks Koepka won the PGA Championship in 2023.

After last year’s Masters final round posted a disappointing drop to 9.59 million average viewers, CBS executives should get good news on Monday. Due to the drama of sudden-death overtime, the network should easily exceed 11 million viewers. Is 15 million out of the question?

With this win, McIlroy became only the sixth golfer in history to complete the career Grand Slam of winning the Masters, U.S. Open, British Open, and PGA Championship. There’s something to be said for Arnold Palmer-like TV appeal. Scheffler is great. But he doesn’t move the TV needle the way Woods, Phil Mickelson, and yes, McIlroy do. That bodes well for the PGA Tour as it negotiates a merger with LIV Golf.

McIlroy and other PGA Tour stars will face off against DeChambeau and LIV Golf’s best players again next month at the PGA Championship in Charlotte at Quail Hollow Club—a course that McIlroy has won four times on the PGA Tour. For now, bragging rights firmly belong to McIlroy and the Tour.