"Death, taxes and Rory choking" - Fans troll Rory McIlroy after disappointing performance in Round 1 of the Masters

Modified Apr 11, 2025 00:46 GMT

PGA: Masters Tournament - First Round - Source: Imagn — Rory McIlroy, Masters Tournament (Image via Imagn)

Rory McIlroy is a part of the 2025 Masters Tournament field this week. He opened up the first round of the prestigious tournament with an even par 72 score that left him tied for 27th place with 10 other golfers.

Several fans and golf enthusiasts alike had picked McIlroy to be the winner of the 2025 Masters Tournament and to complete his first career Grand Slam. However, the Northern Irishman has been known to fall short of his goals on several occasions over the past few years.

One fan took to their X (formerly known as Twitter) to state that Rory McIlroy "choking" is one of the three things that are guaranteed in life. The user wrote (via X @andrewdwmp):

"Death, taxes and Rory choking at Augusta."

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With three holes left to be played, Rory McIlroy was tied for second place at the Masters with a 4 under par score. However, the last stretch of holes saw the Ryder Cup star card in two double bogeys to set him back 25 spots on the leaderboard, at T27.

One golf enthusiast claimed that the last three holes were standard for McIlroy. They commented (via X @PrizePicks):

"If anything at least Rory is consistent."

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Another golf enthusiast wrote (via X @ChrisWi90183954);

"Typical choke job at Augusta by McIlroy. You know it's going to happen just like the sun rising in the east."

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Here are a few other fans' reactions to McIlroy's performance in the first round of the 2025 Masters Tournament:

"He just can't figure Augusta out man. That green jacket may elude him forever," wrote a fan.

Another X user commented, "Rory McIlroy has too much scar tissue at the Masters, he cant handle the pressure there. He should have held the putt on 14. Then he totally collapsed. He has zero resilience to even the slightest setback."

One fan said, "S**t the bed at the masters per usual. Nobody should be shocked."

This week marks Rory McIlroy's 17th start at the Masters Tournament. Having made the cut in 13 events, the PGA Tour star has recorded four finishes in the top 5, including a second-place finish in 2022. If McIlroy manages to win this week, he will join golfing legends like Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus in achieving a career Grand Slam.

Rory McIlroy's 2025 Masters Round 1 Scorecard

Here's a look at Rory McIlroy's performance at Augusta National for the first round on Thursday (via Masters):

Hole 1 (par 4) - 4
Hole 2 (par 5) - 5
Hole 3 (par 4) - 3
Hole 4 (par 3) - 3
Hole 5 (par 4) - 4
Hole 6 (par 3) - 3
Hole 7 (par 4) - 4
Hole 8 (par 5) - 4
Hole 9 (par 4) - 3
Hole 10 (par 4) - 4
Hole 11 (par 4) - 4
Hole 12 (par 3) - 3
Hole 13 (par 5) - 4
Hole 14 (par 4) - 4
Hole 15 (par 5) - 7
Hole 16 (par 3) - 3
Hole 17 (par 4) - 6
Hole 18 (par 4) - 4

About the author

Lathika is one of the newer additions to Sportskeeda’s budding golf journalism team and has brought plenty of in-game experience to the role. Having been a golfer for over 12 years now, some of her crowning achievements include winning titles on the Indian Golf Union Ladies tour and Junior Girls Amateur tour.

She currently competes in Division 1 golf in New York, and hopes to play in the U.S. Open and Chevron Championship one day. She is set to cover the 2025 Ryder Cup as well. She is currently pursuing a degree in Business Administration and Management, and holds a Sports Marketing certification from Northwestern University, which helped her learn to draft press releases and ultimately transition into journalism.

Lathika has thus developed a knowledge base that allows her to view golf from both player, spectator and media lenses, enabling her to bring statistics, insights and an understanding of fan emotion together in her copies. She only uses verified information from reliable sources like the PGA TOUR.

Her favorite golfers are Nelly Korda and Tiger Woods, both for their playing style as well as their mental strength. Much of her time away from work is spent playing golf, but she also enjoys spending time with her family and friends, and learning new hobbies or upskilling.

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Edited by Anisha Chatterjee