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AUGUSTA, Ga. — It certainly wasn’t easy.
With a birdie on the first playoff hole against Justin Rose, Rory McIlroy won the 2025 Masters Tournament to become just the sixth golfer to complete the career grand slam, winning all four major championships. The victory puts him in rarified air, on and off the course, that will extend well beyond his prime playing days.
McIlroy won the U.S. Open, Open Championship (also known as the British Open), and two PGA Championships from 2011 to 2014. But he had to wait 10 years, 8 months, and 4 days after his last major win at Valhalla Golf Club before claiming victory at Augusta National Golf Club on Sunday, and putting on the Green Jacket.
McIlroy, 35, joins Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Ben Hogan, and Gene Sarazen in winning the career grand slam. Aside from their combined 51 major championships, those other five men have robust business across nearly every aspect of the golf industry—from apparel to golf course design to club manufacturing and more.
The $4.2 million winner’s check McIlroy takes home from the Masters puts his career earnings at just over $104.24 million, second only to Tiger Woods ($120.99 million). But as a fellow grand slam winner, McIlroy will now have greater cache to capitalize on his starpower. McIlroy has already shown a big interest in off-course business endeavors, as he co-founded the TGL indoor golf league, which launched this year, alongside Woods.
McIlroy currently has a long-term apparel deal with Nike and equipment pact with TaylorMade, which are believed to be bringing in at least a combined $20 million annually, if not more.
Lights, Camera, Action
In what should be great for TV ratings on CBS, the final leg of McIlroy’s grand slam came during a wildly entertaining, up-and-down final Masters round that ended with him in tears as the patrons chanted his name around the 18th green.
Bryson DeChambeau, who was in the final group with McIlroy, finished tied for fifth, four strokes behind, after many thought it might be a head-to-head battle between those two that would bring monster viewership.
The dramatic victory for McIlroy—who has been a big TV draw on the PGA Tour this season—will likely help CBS see a spike in TV ratings, compared to last year’s Masters, which suffered a 20% final-round viewership dip as Scottie Scheffler easily won his second Green Jacket in front of a national TV audience of 9.59 million people.
ESPN averaged 2.7 million viewers for its afternoon coverage of the first and second rounds on Thursday and Friday. That was down 21% from last year, when Woods was competing in the Masters, and made the cut.
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