AUGUSTA, Ga. — Even after Rory McIlroy’s disastrous finish on Thursday, when he double-bogeyed two of the final four holes to turn an easy 68 into an “oh no, here we go again” 72, Brandel Chamblee was adamant that not only was McIlroy not out of the tournament, he could still win the damn thing.
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Chamblee’s case was simple—he just hit the ball that good on the other 16 holes, and that he’d continue the rest of the week. The Golf Channel “Live From” host’s words proved prophetic on Friday and Saturday, as McIlroy shot consecutive freewheeling 66s, making just two bogeys along the way, to take a two-shot lead into the final round.
Then, McIlroy made a nerve-induced double bogey at the opening hole Sunday, his third double bogey of the week. Only one player ever, Craig Stadler in 1982, had ever won the Masters with three double bogeys over the course of four days. After McIlroy’s playing partner, Bryson DeChambeau, made birdie at the par-5 seecond to McIlroy’s par and took the lead, it certainly didn’t feel like McIlroy was about to become the second player to ever accomplish the improbable feat.
Twelve holes later, McIlroy made a downright shocking fourth double bogey at the par-5 13th. No chance. No way. No one can win a Masters with FOUR double bogeys. One usually does most guys in. Two is tough to overcome. Three a death sentence. Four? How are you even still anywhere near the top of the leader board?
Well, as Chamblee argued Thursday, because McIlroy was simply hitting it that good. He bounced back with incredible birdies at 15 and 17, and even after a bogey at the 72nd, he managed to bounce back yet again with a birdie in a sudden death playoff against Justin Rose. A perfect gap wedge from 125 yards to three feet. When the birdie putt dropped, he somehow topped Stadler, becoming the first to ever win the Masters with a four-pack of (Mc)Doubles.
McIlroy’s final Sunday scorecard featured two doubles, three bogeys, six birdies plus a seventh in the playoff, and just seven pars. It all added up to a 73, which wound up being enough to get ‘er done. It was one of the wildest winning rounds in the history of this storied event. Chamblee summed it up perfectly on Golf Channel not long after the final putt dropped.
“That was the most bipolar round of golf I’ve ever seen,” he said.
“That was the most bipolar round of golf I’ve ever seen.” —@chambleebrandel pic.twitter.com/mfMvdXaUsi
— Christopher Powers (@CPowers14) April 13, 2025
Yup, nailed it. The highs and lows have always been exacerbated with this man over the years, mainly because of how badly not just he, but everyone watching at home, wants it for him. Emotional swings like you read about. Or, as Brandel puts it, bipolar golf. We can all relate, can’t we?
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This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
