Rory McIlroy wins Masters in playoff to earn career Grand Slam - ESPN

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Rory McIlroy's long, painful wait for the career Grand Slam is finally over.

And the greatest achievement of his career was as nerve-racking and dramatic as the near misses that came before it.

The 35-year-old from Northern Ireland overcame a shaky start — and even more perilous finish — in the final round of the 89th Masters at Augusta National Golf Club on Sunday to defeat Justin Rose in the first hole of a sudden-death playoff to win a green jacket and become only the sixth golfer to complete the career Grand Slam.

McIlroy joins Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as the only golfers to capture the four major championships in the Masters era.

«This is my 17th time here, and I started to wonder if it would ever be my time,» McIlroy said. «I think the last 10 years coming here with the burden of the Grand Slam on my shoulders and trying to achieve that, yeah, I'm sort of wondering what we're all going to talk about going into next year's Masters.»

In the playoff on the par-4 18th, both players hit their tee shots in the fairway. Rose's approach from 187 yards nearly hit the hole on the fly, and his ball bounced 15 feet past. McIlroy's second shot was even better, landing on the slope above the hole with his ball rolling back 4 feet from the cup as the patrons surrounding the green chanted his name.

Rory McIlroy on Sunday became just the sixth golfer in history to accomplish the career Grand Slam — winning the Masters, Open Championship, U.S. Open and PGA Championship.

After taking several minutes to read the putt, Rose's birdie attempt failed to break and stayed right. With a second chance to capture his first green jacket, he missed a 5-footer on the 72nd hole. McIlroy