Rory McIlroy finally joined the ‘Grand Slam’ club when he won a thrilling 2025 Masters at Augusta National in a playoff over Justin Rose on Sunday.
McIlroy, who entered the final round with a two-shot lead, posted a 1-over par 73, before he birdied the first playoff hole to beat his Ryder Cup team-mate who made 10 birdies in a stunning final round of 6-under par, 66.
McIlroy, 35, became just the sixth man – and first European – to clinch the ‘Slam’, joining Americans Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods and South Africa’s Gary Player.
McIlroy’s other major wins came at the US Open (2011), PGA Championship (2012 and 2014) and Open Championship (2014).
Massive pay day
The historic achievement saw McIlroy walk away with a massive pay day – a record $4.2 million.
That represented an increase of $600 000 from what Scottie Scheffler earned when he captured his second green jacket in 2024.
The lone South African to have made the cut, Charl Schwartzel, finished in a tie for 36th on 2-over par.
That was good enough to earn the 2011 champions $96 600 (R1.83 million).
For those players who didn’t make the cut, they’re not going home empty handed, as the Masters provides $25 000 to professionals who competed in the tournament.
That was good news for the two other South Africans who started the tournament but failed to make the halfway cut.
Christiaan Bezuidenhout could do no better than a 4-over par 76 in his opening 18 holes and followed that up with a second round 3-over par 75 for a total of 151, five shots outside the cut line.
Finally, Thirston Lawrence struggled to a 7-over par 79 in Round 1, and, although he improved to a 4-over par 76 in his second round, his total of 155 placed left in in a tie for 92nd in the 95-player field and nine shots off making the weekend.
Masters prize money payouts
| Position | Player | Total | Prize |
| 1 | Rory McIlroy | -11 | $4,200,000 |
| 2 | Justin Rose | -11 | $2,268,000 |
| 3 | Patrick Reed | -9 | $1,428,000 |
| 4 | Scottie Scheffler | -8 | $1,008,000 |
| T5 | Sungjae Im | -7 | $798,000 |
| T5 | Bryson DeChambeau | -7 | $798,000 |
| 7 | Ludvig Aberg | -6 | $703,500 |
| T8 | Jason Day | -5 | $588,000 |
| T8 | Corey Conners | -5 | $588,000 |
| T8 | Xander Schauffele | -5 | $588,000 |
| T8 | Zach Johnson | -5 | $588,000 |
| T12 | Harris English | -4 | $462,000 |
| T12 | Max Homa | -4 | $462,000 |
| T14 | Bubba Watson | -3 | $336,000 |
| T14 | Jon Rahm | -3 | $336,000 |
| T14 | Jordan Spieth | -3 | $336,000 |
| T14 | Tyrrell Hatton | -3 | $336,000 |
| T14 | Matt McCarty | -3 | $336,000 |
| T14 | Tom Hoge | -3 | $336,000 |
| T14 | Collin Morikawa | -3 | $336,000 |
| T21 | Hideki Matsuyama | -2 | $210,000 |
| T21 | Davis Riley | -2 | $210,000 |
| T21 | Tommy Fleetwood | -2 | $210,000 |
| T21 | Daniel Berger | -2 | $210,000 |
| T21 | Byeong Hun An | -2 | $210,000 |
| T21 | Viktor Hovland | -2 | $210,000 |
| T27 | Aaron Rai | -1 | $158,500 |
| T27 | Michael Kim | -1 | $158,500 |
| T29 | Sahith Theegala | E | $142,800 |
| T29 | Denny McCarthy | E | $142,800 |
| T29 | Joaquin Niemann | E | $142,800 |
| T32 | Brian Campbell | 1 | $118,860 |
| T32 | Maverick McNealy | 1 | $118,860 |
| T32 | Rasmus Hojgaard | 1 | $118,860 |
| T32 | Max Greyserman | 1 | $118,860 |
| T36 | Justin Thomas | 2 | $118,860 |
| T36 | Brian Harman | 2 | $96,600 |
| T36 | Patrick Cantlay | 2 | $96,600 |
| T36 | Charl Schwartzel | 2 | $96,600 |
| T40 | Matt Fitzpatrick | 3 | $96,600 |
| T40 | Nick Taylor | 3 | $84,000 |
| T42 | Akshay Bhatia | 4 | $84,000 |
| T42 | Danny Willett | 4 | $77,700 |
| T42 | J.T. Poston | 4 | $77,700 |
| T42 | Shane Lowry | 4 | $77,700 |
| T46 | Wyndham Clark | 5 | $59,535 |
| T46 | Sam Burns | 5 | $59,535 |
| T46 | Davis Thompson | 5 | $59,535 |
| 49 | Min Woo Lee | 6 | $59,535 |
| 50 | J.J. Spaun | 7 | $52,920 |
| 51 | Nico Echavarria | 8 | $51,660 |
| T52 | Stephan Jaeger | 9 | $51,660 |
| T52 | Tom Kim | 9 | $51,660 |
Fair reward for all the hard work golfers put in?
Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1
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