Rory McIlroy has been reflecting on his iconic win at Augusta last year, and it turns out one putt from the winner of the Augusta National Women's Amateur in 2025 helped him secure his victory.
The Masters title and the Career Grand Slam had evaded McIlroy for so long, but it all came together last year for his crowning achievement.
McIlroy recently revisited Augusta and even recreated one of his most memorable shots from that winning round — his 7-iron on the 15th hole. But, it's his final stroke of the whole tournament that has become a talking point again this week.
Cast your mind back to last April, when McIlroy ended up in a playoff against Justin Rose. It seemed his chance of glory had been thrown away, until Rose missed a vital putt allowing McIlroy to swoop in.
Turns out, McIlroy's winning putt was largely down to the homework he did prior to The Masters, which included watching the Augusta National Women's Amateur and seeing Carla Bernat Escuder claim her victory.
McIlroy has been on The Masters YouTube channel recently, giving a full analysis of his epic win, and he revealed the secret to making sure he nailed that crucial putt.
He said: "Even before Justin hit his putt, I marked my ball and I watched a lot of the final round of the ANWA and [Carla Bernat Escuder] who ended up winning, she had a very similar putt to win.
"I remember watching it and [the ball] didn't really do much. It maybe went a touch left to right, so I felt like I had seen that putt before.
"Once Justin's putt didn't go in, all I could do was just stay in the moment as much as possible. I put my ball down, I go through my routine, and I just said to myself, 'It's inside left, make a good stroke.'"
The fact that in the lead-up to the biggest event of the year, McIlroy took the time to watch and study the women's game says a lot about his commitment and his approach to preparation.
Other players may have been at the range or in the gym, but McIlroy was dialled in on exactly what he would need to do at Augusta.
Before Rory McIlroy stood on the precipice of history, he watched Carla Bernat Escuder’s triumph foreshadow his own putt for the Green Jacket.#ANWAgolf pic.twitter.com/l1cPlnSUKiApril 3, 2026
The video of McIlroy looking back at his win is fascinating, and very emotional, too. Describing the moment his ball fell in the cup, the Northern Irishman tears up explaining how he felt.
"Sometimes I think, 'Why me? Why was I the next to do it [win the Grand Slam]?' I dropped to my knees and screamed at the top of my lungs twice into the green.
"I get up and the first thing I see is my best friend, and... I just think, to do that together, and the times we've been so close to getting it done, that meant a lot to me.
"I celebrate with Harry [Diamond]. And then I go and see Justin. I'm really close with him and I recognise that it's his second time of losing a playoff there. I felt for him, but he was so classy.
"To walk up the hill and see my family and them knowing everything I've been through at that tournament... it was a great day."
