Rory McIlroy Wins At Pebble Beach, Major Victory Coming In 2025?
The first signature event on the PGA Tour schedule has come and gone with Rory McIlroy capturing victory with a dominant Sunday performance at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
Of course, McIlroy has a reputation (and history) of not-so-good Sunday performances, but that wasn't an issue this week. Nor was his previous history at Pebble Beach, which included several poor showings.
He entered the final round trailing Sepp Straka by one shot, and didn't play his best through the first nine holes. After shooting a one-under 35 on the front, he was tied with two other players for the lead.
But that's when McIlroy took his game up a notch and started pouring in birdies.
By the time the final group finished the 14th hole, McIlroy had opened a virtually insurmountable four-shot lead after knocking home a 27-foot eagle putt.
The world's third-ranked golfer birdied hole 10 and hole 12 before that eagle on 14 and then followed the eagle with another birdie at 15.
RELATED: Rory McIlroy Drills Hole-In-One During First Round Of Pebble Beach Pro-Am
For those hoping for the "McIlroy Meltdown," they were left disappointed. The PGA Tour superstar made par on holes 16 and 17 before stepping up to the 72nd, and final, hole of the week with a three-shot lead over countryman Shane Lowry.
With the big lead, McIlroy elected to play the final hole – the iconic par-5 18th at Pebble Beach – conservatively and made a stress-free par to finish off a five-under back nine, shooting a six-under 66 and completing the tournament at -21.
Although the shot didn't factor into the final results (at least as far as the winner was concerned), we'd be remiss not to mention the incredible shot that Cam Davis hit on the final hole of the tournament. It came from a lie with which many amateur golfers are surely familiar – the roots of a tree – but the result was anything but amateur.
And, before we turn our attention back to McIlroy, we have to mention the other crazy shot that Davis hit on Sunday.
The victory represented McIlroy's third PGA Tour victory in the past calendar year, winning twice in 2024 (Zurich Classic of New Orleans and the Wells Fargo Championship).
Rory McIlroy rode a tremendous final round to win the first signature event of the 2025 PGA Tour schedule, the Pebble Beach Pro-Am, but his sights are firmly set on his first major win since 2014.
(Kiyoshi Mio/Imagn Images)
However, McIlroy would probably trade all three of those victories to win a major tournament for the first time in over 10 years.
Rory McIlroy continues to chase the elusive major championship victory
Despite being one of the world's best golfers for the past 15 years, major victories have eluded McIlroy since he won both the PGA Championship and Open Championship in 2014.
McIlroy won four major titles from 2011-14 but finds himself in the midst of an epic dry streak.
His closest call came at last year's U.S. Open, but the Northern Irishman missed two putts inside 5 feet and bogeyed three of his final four holes to lose by one shot to Bryson DeChambeau.
McIlroy took a few weeks off from golf after that final-round meltdown at Pinehurst, but looks like he's in great form heading into the 2025 major season.
The first on the schedule is The Masters, the one major tournament that McIlroy has failed to win in his illustrious career.
He finished second in 2022 and came in a tie for 22nd last year after missing the cut in 2023.
Scottie Scheffler, the world's top ranked golfer and the reigning Masters champion, is the heavy favorite to capture another green jacket.
McIlroy is the third betting favorite, also trailing Xander Schauffele.
The 2025 Masters begins on Thursday, April 10.