Rory McIlroy Wins First Masters, Takes Home $4.2 Million in Prize Money
Rory McIlroy won the 89th edition of The Masters golf tournament in a sudden-death playoff over Justin Rose. It marked McIlroy’s first major title since 2014 and made him just the sixth men’s player to capture a career Grand Slam.
He joins Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods with wins at all four majors.
McIlroy earned $4.2 million for the win, a $600,000 increase over the $3.6 million Scottie Scheffler banked last year for his second green jacket in three years. Total prize money was $21 million, up 5% versus 2024.
Rose earned $2.27 million, while Patrick Reed (-9) finished third, which was worth $1.43 million, and Scheffler (-8) made $1.01 million for his fourth-place finish.
McIlroy and Rose both finished at 11-under after Rose sunk a long birdie putt at 18, and McIlroy made bogey. The golfers returned to the 18th hole for the playoff, and McIlroy stuck his second shot three feet from the hole. Rose made a par, and McIlroy dropped to his knees after he drained his birdie putt for the win.
“This is my 17th time here,” McIlroy said in Butler Cabin after the win. “I started to wonder if it would ever be my time.”
McIlroy started Sunday with a one-shot lead over Bryson DeChambeau, who finished tied for fifth. It was the first 54-hole lead at a major for McIlroy since the 2014 PGA Championship, which marked his last major championship victory.
He also won the British Open that year as a 25-year-old, and the golfer from Northern Ireland looked on his way to joining Nicklaus, Woods and Walter Hagen among golfers with double-digit majors. But while McIlory racked up more than two dozen wins worldwide since 2014, he failed to win another major before Sunday.
The Masters win is McIlroy’s fifth major, tied with Brooks Koepka for third among active players, behind Woods (15) and Phil Mickelson (6). It is McIlroy’s third win of 2025, including The Players Championship and the $4.5 million for that title.
McIlroy has now earned $104.2 million in official career prize money, second behind Woods ($121 million), but he’s made a PGA-record $160 million, including $56 million in FedEx Cup payouts. Last year, McIlroy earned an estimated $79.8 million, including $45 million off the course from sponsors. It ranked 17th among the world’s highest-paid athletes.
