Rory McIlroy subs Pebble Beach a 'Cathedral of the game' after winning on his 2025 season debut

Rory McIlroy dubbed the Pebble Golf Links as a cathedral of the game after winning his 27th PGA Tour event at the 2025 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. The Northern Irish golfer started his 2025 campaign on the PGA Tour at the Pebble Beach event with a victory in the game, winning the tournament by two shots over Shane Lowry.

Following the tournament, in an interview with PGA Tour's Sirius XM, Rory McIlroy opened up about the venue and called it the cathedral of the game while naming other venues on the list. Speaking of the venue, he said (at 1:44):

"There are few what I would call cathedrals of golf here—Augusta, St. Andrews, obviously, maybe a few more you can add to that—and I had a big fat zero on all those going in here. To knock one off at Pebble is very cool. Yeah, I am a big historian of the game, and I remember all the championships that have been played here. You know, to add my name to the list is pretty cool."

Notably, the 2025 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am was held at two venues last week, including Pebble Beach Golf Links and Spyglass Hill Golf Course. McIlroy played the first round at Spyglass and the remaining three at Pebble Beach.

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A look into Rory McIlroy's performance at the 2025 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am

McIlroy started his game at the 2025 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am on the tenth hole of the Spyglass Hill Golf Course with a birdie on the 12th. He played a bogey-free round with four birdies in the first round for a round of 6-under 66.

After a good start, in the second round, McIlroy teed it up on the Pebble Beach Golf Links and had an amazing start on the front nine. He made four birdies on the front nine but had some tough times on the back nine. He made four bogeys but bounced back in the game with an eagle on the concluding 18th hole for a round of 2-under 70.

Rory McIlroy teed it up for the third round at the Pebble Beach Golf Links only and made two birdies on the first and second holes. He added two more birdies on the front nine and then three on the back nine for a 7-under 65.

He played the final round at the Pebble Beach Golf Links and made five birdies, an eagle, and a bogey for a round of 6-under 66 and jumped to take the lead in the game, winning the tournament by two strokes.

With the win, Rory McIlroy joined an elite club of golfers such as Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson to win at least 27 PGA Tour events and four Majors in the last three decades.