During 2025, there was no sporting event more dramatic than Rory McIlroy winning The Masters to complete the career Grand Slam — he had already won the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and the British Open. His win at Augusta made him just the sixth player to ever win all four major titles.
But what made the win so brilliant was the fact that he nearly gave it away. His putter abandoned him down the stretch and yet he managed to get to a playoff with Justin Rose before sticking his approach on the first playoff hole, No. 18, and finally sinking a putt to win it.
Will we get a similar finish in 2026? I wouldn’t bet against it.
***
Adding to my enjoyment of The Masters this season? My wife entered a Masters contest at her work, with the winner getting a TaylorMade Spider putter, which is all the rage on the PGA Tour right now.
And it wasn’t just a “who will win” contest. There were about 10 questions, including: will there be eagle during the four-day tournament? (Absolutely). Will a ball be hit into the water at No. 12? (Of course). Will there be a playoff? (Not this year). The tie-breaking question is: the final score for the winner — I say it’s 12 under par.
It’s a nationwide contest, so the chances of winning are probably pretty slim, but a guy can dream, can’t he?
***
While The Masters is a four-day tournament, it really begins Monday and ramps up until Thursday’s first round. Monday and Tuesday are practice days — along with Tuesday’s night champions dinner, which is one of the most exclusive parties in the world. It is reserved only for Masters champions.
Wednesday, the players get to ease into competition with the Par 3 Contest, played on the par-3 short course at Augusta National. While a carefree, family affair for the players, it does get their competitive juices flowing before the start of the tournament.
This year’s Par 3 Contest was marred, in my mind, with ESPN’s broadcast of it. Not the actual airing of it, but the fact ESPN shoehorned in a pair of “celebrity caddies” in former Philadelphia Eagles offensive lineman Jason Kelce, who ESPN insists on shoving down the throats of viewers. The other was that bastion of celebrity golfers, comedian Kevin Hart — another over-exposed celebrity. The event is fun enough without those two.
Recommended for you
***
If you’re looking to watch as much Masters as possible, you’ll need a couple of different services. While CBS is the home of The Masters and ESPN serving as a main secondary broadcast, there are a pair of streaming serving muscling their way into the broadcast — Amazon Prime and Paramount+, the parent company of CBS.
Prime gets the honor of the first broadcast as it will be the only service available to watch the early parts of the tournament. Early action can be found on Prime from 10 a.m. to noon on Thursday and Friday before it moves over to ESPN from noon to 4:30 p.m.
On the weekend, Paramount+ gets in on the action, with two-hour windows Saturday and Sunday, from 9 to 11 a.m. CBS finally comes online after that, carrying the final two days from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
And if you need even more than that, The Masters has arguably the best online presence in sports with Masters.com. Here you watch different feeds covering different portions of the tournament — from featured pairings to cameras that cover only Amen Corner, holes Nos. 11 through 13.
***
And if you need even more Masters, I highly recommend the Netflix documentary, “Rory McIlroy: The Masters Wait.”
In it, McIlroy is interviewed after winning the tournament, interspersed with highlights from his career, which began as a 17 year old, along with interviews with his parents and tidbits of McIlroy growing up.
Very well done documentary, very emotional and very much about The Masters.
Nathan Mollat has been covering high school sports in San Mateo County for the San Mateo Daily Journal since 2001. He can be reached by email: nathan@smdailyjournal.com.
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Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
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PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
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