McIlroy hit some incredible approach shots to help him win the Masters, so we ranked his nine best
Rory McIlroy put on one of the all-time great shot-making displays during the final three rounds of the 2025 Masters. While he putt well and hit some jaw-dropping drives, it was his iron and wedge play that impressed the most on his way to a green jacket.
That should come as no surprise considering the history of Masters winners, as strokes-gained tee-to-green has been the single most defining characteristic of who gets to put on the green jacket. The dramatic nature of Augusta National’s greens require players to produce yard-perfect approach shots to give themselves good chances at making birdies, and McIlroy was up to that test over his final 54 holes.
Here, I wanted to rank his nine best approach shots of the week. I want to focus on the approach play, so this will not include things like his Saturday chip-in on No. 2 or opening two drives that same day, because that is the area on which McIlroy worked so hard. He wanted to learn how to hit all the shots required by Augusta National, and did so on his way to becoming a Masters champion.
9. Tee shot on No. 4 | Final round
We’ll start with a shot that I don’t think will be remembered but was critical to his Sunday. After the disastrous start saw him lose the lead, he’d reclaimed it on No. 3 — more on that to come — and stepped to the 4th tee with the honors. He hit his patented towering draw just left of the hole, applying ample pressure on Bryson DeChambeau to answer, and McIlroy prompted the first wayward swing of what became a day full of them from the two-time U.S. Open champion.
8. Second shot on No. 10 | Second round
The swing that, to me, started it all. McIlroy had gotten out to a solid start on Friday, making his turn in 2 under, but it was this swing from the fairway on No. 10 that really sparked his run up the leaderboard. He followed this up with another dart on No. 11 and suddenly the Rory bounce was back.
7. Second shot on No. 17 | Final round
It wasn’t quite as impressive as some of his approaches into par 5s and didn’t require as much magic as his escapes out of the trees, but McIlroy’s second on No. 17 was a perfect shot when he absolutely needed it the most. It set up a near kick-in birdie, which were about the only kind he was able to make on the second nine on Sunday as the nerves showed up most on the putting surface. Without this shot and this birdie, his bogey on the 18th would’ve lost him the green jacket rather than sent him into a playoff.
6. Second shot on No. 13 | Second round
This was the shot that made everyone start to believe this thing was real. Out of the pine straw with a 4 iron in hand, he pushed it right of his intended start line and flirted with the tributary of Rae’s Creek that runs in front. However, by taking the extra club (he debated between a 4 and 5 iron), he had enough to cover on line with the flag and left himself less than 10 feet below the hole for eagle. That make created the biggest roar of the week to that point and put him in position to actually contend just 24 hours after seemingly blowing his chance on Thursday afternoon.
5. Second shot on No. 3 | Final round
This was Rory’s choice for his best shot of the day, and I understand why. After those first two holes, his mind was scrambled and he was faced with one of the most difficult second shots on the entire golf course. There is no margin for error on No. 3 when they have the pin in the front left, and McIlroy was given a hands check at a time when confidence was not at its highest. Yet, he delivered a perfect shot, bumping it into the hill to get it to bounce up, land soft and roll out to just a few feet behind the hole. After making that putt, everything settled down for McIlroy as he put an end to what looked like a swift ejection.
4. Second shot on No. 7 | Final round
The other shot McIlroy pointed to after his round is one that will live on highlight reels forever — as, really, will the rest of the shots on this list. When Dottie Pepper informed the booth he was looking at a window up high, no one could believe it (not even his caddie, Harry Diamond). But McIlroy, who had a few incredible escapes from the trees this week — Saturday on No. 14, Sunday on No. 5 — produced his most magical getaway yet, hoisting a 9 iron straight up in the air, cutting through a tiny window (even clipping a branch) and landing almost in the hole. He wouldn’t make the birdie putt after this, but it was still an incredible par that kept his round on track.
3. Second shot on No. 18 | Playoff
The shot that legitimately won him the Masters. After watching Justin Rose flag one on his approach, McIlroy knew he needed something sensational. He was facing almost the exact same yardage as the wedge he flared right into the bunker 15 minutes before (McIlroy said it was 2 yards less) and had to erase that shot from his mind. He pulled his gap wedge and hit the three-quarter shot he’s talked about working on for months — the one that won him The Players a month ago — and executed it perfectly. He landed his ball into the slope behind with enough spin to pull back to inside four feet (but not with too much spin to rip way back). After some shaky misses on Nos. 15, 16 and 18 in regulation, leaving himself a kick-in to win felt crucial.
2. Second shot on No. 15 | Third round
When he hit this towering 6 iron on Saturday, it felt like the shot of the tournament. A near carbon copy of the approach Tiger Woods hit on Sunday in 2011, right down to the quick walk after it, McIlroy sent a ball high into the heavens and got it to land perfectly on the always difficult 15th green, nestling up to just a few feet from the hole for eagle. That eagle put him four in front at the time (and five up on DeChambeau). It felt like the most important shot of his life, but little did he know he’d need something even better on that same hole one day later.
1. ‘The shot of a lifetime’ on No. 15 | Final round
When he stepped on the tee on No. 15 on Sunday, McIlroy had just gone double bogey-bogey to give away his solo lead and was tied with Rose and Ludvig Åberg at 10 under. With the 16th hole not being in its traditional Sunday location on the lower level and instead being perched up on the back right shelf, the 15th represented his last great opportunity at a birdie. A circle on the card was an absolute must, not just for his place on the leaderboard but to settle the nerves one more time.
His drive was hammered but turned over more to the left than he wanted. That left him with some tree trouble directly in front of him, but from 207 yards (and after flubbing a wedge in the water on No. 13), he couldn’t lay up. So, he pulled 7 iron, one club less than he hit on Saturday, and launched a slinging draw around the trees that sent the patrons and everyone watching at home into a frenzy.
He didn’t make the eagle putt, but it was so close an approach that the worst case scenario was a tap-in birdie. That was one he had to have, and executing that shot put him back on track the rest of the way with great swings on No. 16 and No. 17. It was, as CBS Sports’ Jim Nantz put it, the shot of a lifetime, and without it, he wouldn’t be wearing a green jacket.
