Rory McIlroy Won the Masters, Finally. The Roars Told the Story.

AUGUSTA, Ga. — A concoction of sweaty bodies and long-lens cameras was deadlocked successful the precocious left-hand country of the No. 15 grandstand astatine Augusta National arsenic Rory McIlroy’s 7-foot eagle putt slid underneath the cup. At that constituent successful the day, the phoneless Masters Tournament patrons were not unfamiliar with the dependable of thousands of simultaneous groans. Hearing and participating successful them repeatedly, however, was not getting immoderate easier.

A Green Jacket stood up retired of his integrative bleacher spot successful a frenzy.

“I can’t instrumentality overmuch much of this,” the man uttered. He bee-lined toward the steep downward staircase, his sons adjacent behind, fumbling to fastener the overgarment that lone a prime radical tin athletics connected this property.

Until it really happened, McIlroy’s pursuit of the vocation Grand Slam and the extremity to his 11-year large title drought felt much similar if you took the astir nauseating roller coaster connected world and accrued its velocity tenfold. Or stuck yourself successful a blender and turned it to the highest setting, making the array shake.

An opening treble bogey, a h2o shot into Rae’s Creek with a wedge successful hand, the archetypal sudden-death playoff successful the Masters since 2017 — McIlroy gave Augusta National the amusement it didn’t cognize it wanted. The patrons connected tract inactive aren’t definite that’s what they would person signed up for. Sunday was a ticketed bosom attack.

“My conflict contiguous was with myself. It wasn’t with anyone else,” McIlroy said Sunday evening, a 38 Regular greenish overgarment slung implicit his shoulders. “You know, astatine the extremity there, it was with Justin (Rose), but my conflict contiguous was with my caput and staying successful the present.

“I’d similar to accidental that I did a amended occupation of it than I did. It was a struggle, but I got it implicit the line.”

It mightiness person been an interior waging of the wars for McIlroy, but each of Augusta National felt it with him. They leaned with the wayward drives, hustled to drawback a glimpse of the gravity-defying flight routes, and hoped — oh, did they anticipation — each clip the putter look made interaction with the play shot it would find a hole. Just this one, Rory.

Rotation by rotation, they held their breath.

Then, a last roar that could lone mean 1 thing: sweet, saccharine relief.

In his 1975 Masters record for Sports Illustrated, the large Dan Jenkins wrote: “There is an aged saying that the existent Masters doesn’t statesman until the backmost 9 connected Sunday.” That was 50 Masters ago. It’s inactive true.

This backmost 9 of the 89th Masters began with a semblance of thing that you tin ne'er spot astatine the place: comfort. It is astir ever a mirage.

No. 10 crushed McIlroy’s Masters dreams 14 years agone arsenic a naive 21-year-old. Sunday morning, McIlroy opened his locker to a enactment from Angel Cabrera, the 2009 champion who played with McIlroy that day.

The thrust connected No. 10 was demonless. The ensuing birdie putt to instrumentality a four-shot lead? Electrifying. Patrons surrounded the 10th greenish and 11th fairway 30 deep, peering done histrion branches and shuffling astir aimlessly to find a spread wherever they could spot something. Anything. Amen Corner lurked. Lest they each knew, the rug was astir to beryllium ripped retired from underneath the Northern Irishman.

It each happened successful a blur. A bogey connected No. 11 — a fig that could person been a batch bigger. A par astatine No. 12. A 3-wood disconnected the tee astatine No. 13, McIlroy playing it harmless with a four-shot lead.

There’s nary tighter portion of the spot for patrons than Amen Corner, tens of thousands pressed unneurotic to ticker arsenic McIlroy’s shot flew done the aerial once, past twice. He stood with a wedge successful his hands from 82 yards. If helium was going to screw this each up, it wasn’t going to beryllium here, with each of Georgia to the near broadside of the green. Right?

McIlroy’s shot tumbled into the creek. He bent his spine successful fractional and threw his hands onto his knees. There had been plentifulness of triumphant patron responses astatine that constituent successful the day. Here, successful Amen Corner’s last chapter, the gasps returned. They did not stop.

First, McIlroy’s reddish 13 came disconnected the adjacent manual leaderboard and was replaced by a somber 11. He paused, waiting an further infinitesimal earlier heading implicit the 14th tee, astir arsenic if helium knew it was coming. Rose abruptly had his 10 switched retired for an 11.

Tie score.

No Masters champion has ever won the greenish overgarment with 4 treble bogeys. Is that the benignant of past McIlroy was going to make?

Every clip it looked arsenic though McIlroy had thrown distant the play tourney for good, helium followed it with a shot, a moment, adjacent a bounce successful his measurement that added up to the opposite. He looked similar helium was successful cruise power until the exigency brakes hit. The patrons’ fists successful the aerial were coupled with sunburned faces buried successful hands. More caller reddish numbers caused a stir. McIlroy threw different dart. Birdie-par-birdie. Triumph? No. Closing bogey. There it was. All of it would travel down to this. A sudden-death playoff against his Ryder Cup teammate, Rose.

Harry Diamond, McIlroy’s caddie and champion person since property 7, looked astatine his subordinate arsenic they headed to the play cart that would bring the brace backmost to the 18th tee container erstwhile again.

“Well, pal, we would person taken this connected Monday morning,” helium said.

The jostled Augusta National assemblage did not agree. The anguish was becoming unbearable, borderline exhausting, but besides the champion Masters of the modern era. Either way, it needed to end. McIlroy needed to enactment himself — and everyone other — retired of their misery.

Walk done the achromatic and golden doors of the Augusta National clubhouse, up a winding staircase and done a quaint but decadent eating room, and you’ll find yourself connected a porch. It overlooks the elephantine oak tree, the iconic rows of greenish and achromatic umbrellas, and successful the distance, if you crane your cervix conscionable enough, No. 18 green.

But contiguous that presumption was clouded by a oversea of anxious bodies. On the ground, immoderate projected starting a crippled of “telephone” to pass the play-by-play connected the green.

Up connected the porch, you tin rotate 180 degrees and you’re facing a enactment of achromatic model panes. They pb to a 35-inch television, the lone portion of modern exertion successful a 100-yard radius. A unusual operation of Green Jacket wearers, off-duty broadcasters and confused writers gathered astir to ticker the playoff. Patrick Reed dipped successful to bid an Azalea cocktail. The incoming USGA president showed up. Everyone was excessively tense to utter a word. No 1 did.

A dependable of this unit cannot beryllium tape-delayed.  All of Augusta National felt McIlroy’s vigor merchandise aft that 4-foot birdie putt dropped. And by the look of him — collapsing onto his knees and convulsing with sobs — helium felt it, too.

One of the astir chaotic last rounds of caller representation ended with axenic emotion, a merchandise due for the sixth antheral to implicit the vocation Grand Slam, and McIlroy unopen down a communicative helium wondered whether he’d ever escape.

“It was each relief. There wasn’t overmuch joyousness successful that reaction. It was each relief,” McIlroy said aft the round, laughing. “And then, you know, the joyousness came beauteous soon aft that. But that was — I’ve been coming present 17 years, and it was a decade-plus of emotion that came retired of maine there.”

We know, Rory. We know.

(Top photo: Harry How / Getty Images)

Gabby Herzig is simply a Staff Writer for The Athletic covering golf. Before joining The Athletic, she worked arsenic a breaking quality writer for Sports Illustrated’s play vertical and a contributing exertion astatine Golf Digest. She is simply a postgraduate of Pomona College, wherever she captained the varsity women’s play team.