Here's everything that went wrong with Rory McIlroy's first day at Masters 2025

Rory McIlroy came into the Masters 2025 as a favorite. The Northern Irishman, ranked No.2 in the Official World Golf Rankings, arrived at Augusta National eyeing a career Grand Slam title. For the unversed, the 35-year-old golfer won his last major championship in 2014 and has been struggling since.

McIlroy’s hopes of clinching his maiden Masters title and ending his winless drought this weekend took a big hit after the contest’s opening round. The ace golfer had a forgettable start to the 89th edition of the prestigious major as he finished T27 at play’s end. The Irishman watched on as his English counterpart Justin Rose delivered a flawless 7-under 65. round to seize the lead.

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Here’s a look at what went wrong with Rory McIlroy's Masters opening round:

McIlroy was in control for most parts of Day 1. The ace golfer teed up alongside PGA Tour rivals Akshay Bhatia and Jason Day on Thursday and started off with his strong driving skills. He looked dialed in as he carded 4-under through 14 holes. He matched the pace against several of his competitors. However, the pivotal par-5 15th changed the day’s fate.

The reigning The Players champion approached the par-5 15th with a long-iron from 241 yards. However, he ended up in one of the most treacherous spots on the course - the tightly-mown slope behind the putting surface. The golfer’s chip sped past the hole and the slope helped it reach the water. The golfer ended up with a devastating double-bogey 7 after penalty stroke, a wedge, and two putts.

It wasn’t over for the 2024 US Open runner-up. Rory McIlroy had a deja vu as a three-putt from 30 feet got him a second double-bogey in just four holes. The ace golfer settled for a final tally of an even-par 72. Despite being T27, the ace golfer’s round looked worse outside the paper. Having come in as a favorite, he finished seven shots behind leader Justin Rose.

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‘Rory McIlroy lacks discipline’: Jack Nicklaus

It is pertinent to note that Rory McIlroy had made several changes to his game ahead of the contest. He switched to a softer ball for more control and even revealed improving his short game. However, he failed to save the opening round in a contest where he held a promising chance of clinching his career Grand Slam.

Interestingly, 18-time major champion Jack Nicklaus had almost predicted McIlroy’s downfall in the contest. The legendary golfer revealed Thursday that he had lunch in Florida last week with the Northern Irishman and discussed strategy around Augusta National. The six-time Masters winner stated that the latter ‘lacked discipline’ but backed him to complete the Grand Slam this weekend.

Jack Nicklaus said about Rory McIlroy, as quoted by NY Post:

“I think it’s about time that Rory (McIlroy) won (a Masters). I sat down with Rory last week and we had lunch, and we were talking, and I said, ‘Rory, I know you prepared for Augusta; tell me how you’re going to play the golf course.’ We went through it shot for shot. And (when) he got done with the round, and I didn’t open my mouth. (Then) I said, ‘Well, I wouldn’t change a thing. That’s exactly the way I would try to play the golf course.’

The discipline to do that is what Rory has lacked, in my opinion. He’s got all the shots. He’s got all the game. He certainly is as talented as anybody in the game. But if you look, go back and see his history the last few years, he gets to a place a lot of times an eight or a seven pops up and that keeps you from getting to where he needs to go.”

Rory McIlroy chose to skip media interviews after the back-nine collapse. For the unversed, the TGL co-founder had a similar reaction to losing the US Open to LIV rival Bryson DeChambeau in a playoff last year. The Northern Irishman left the event venue without interviews and later put out a statement apologizing for the same.