Is this the most wide-open Masters in years?

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It'll be hard to top last year's Masters.

Desperate to finally complete the career Grand Slam after years of frustration at Augusta National and a decade without a major title, Rory McIlroy blew his final-round lead to a surging Justin Rose, missing a five-foot putt for the win on 18. But the endearingly vulnerable Northern Irishman responded with a dramatic birdie in the ensuing playoff to capture his elusive green jacket and join legends Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Ben Hogan and Gene Sarazen as the only players to win all four majors in men's golf.

The afterglow of McIlroy's cathartic victory was just as delightful. Displaying an incredibly raw mix of emotions after he sank the winning putt and greeted a stream of family, friends and other well-wishers along his long stroll to the clubhouse, McIlroy looked as if he'd just simultaneously won the lottery, been elected mayor of Augusta and walked away from a 100km/h car crash. Even by the lofty standards of the Masters' most iconic victories — young Tiger in 1997, old Tiger in 2019, even older Jack in 1986, hometown boy Larry Mize's playoff chip-in in '87 — this was about as good as it gets. 

So, where do we go from here? Does McIlroy have more magic in him? Can world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler recapture the green jacket? Will a brand-new champion emerge? Let's go over some key storylines for the first (and best) golf major of the year.

Rory hasn't been the same.

Since his career-defining victory, McIlroy has won only one individual tournament, and that came against a pretty soft field at the European Tour's Irish