Rory McIlroy’s win at the Masters was a lot of things. His first green jacket. His first major in more than a decade. The completion of the career Grand Slam. One of the most popular wins in the history of the tournament.
But was it the most popular?
Let’s be upfront—that is an impossible question to answer and if you viewed the Golf Digest Slack channel after McIlroy beat Justin Rose in a playoff to win his first major since 2014, you’d know that there were a fair number of candidates to choose from. Enough, however, to warrant putting together this list of the top five. As you read below, remember, we’re talking about the popularity of the win, not the enormity of the achievement. Also, we’re talking about during this writers professional career. With that, here we go …
5. Jack Nicklaus, 1986 
David Cannon
My first year in golf publishing and I wasn’t there, but no doubt a very popular win. A 46-year-old in too-tight slacks shooting 30 on the final nine is the stuff of legend. Yet Nicklaus wasn’t always the most warm and fuzzy of players, and much like the New York Yankees, his consistent greatness almost worked against the likability factor.
4. Tiger Woods 1997 
Sam Greenwood
Say what, No. 4? I know, you’d like to have a word. Hear me out. The Tiger of 1997 was a young phenom who we were interested in, in awe of and fascinated by. But we did not yet have the personal connection with him as golf fans that we did later in his career. Not even close. The 1997 Masters was a master class is dismantling a championship golf course and field, and ushered in a new era of golf, but all the feels were between Tiger and Earl, not Tiger and us.
3. Tiger Woods, 2019 
J.D. Cuban
OK, I’m about to duck … and I agree this is where it gets razor close. I was at this Masters and the energy from the 12th hole on was off the charts. The comeback of a lifetime. Check. A feel-good story for the ages. Check. A redemption of massive proportions. Check. But it was missing one thing for me. If Tiger had lost I don’t think golf fans as a whole would have been crushed. Disappoiinted severely but not crushed. He had four Masters and 14 majors and let’s face it, some people simply don’t like Tiger. Not many, but some.
2. Rory McIlroy, 2025 
Photo by J.D. Cuban
I was really, really, REALLY tempted to place this in the one spot, but I think that might be recency bias speaking. However, there is no doubt the win, while sloppy beyond belief, was/is hugely popular. For many reasons. The angst every golfer can relate to. The filling in of an important last line on the résumé. The coughing up of leads but coming back to salvage everything. Golf fans are invested in McIlroy at the Masters in a way that resonates very personally. Add in the fact it looked like he lost the tournament a couple of times late only to come up big in the playoff—and oh that reaction—made it all the better.
1. Phil Mickelson, 2004 
Augusta National
Much like Rory, Pre-LIV Philly Mick was a fan favorite. Unlike Rory, Lefty had yet to win a major and had endured some crushing losses, the kind that both sting and make for a sympathetic figure who is easy to root for. Plus his style of play was riveting. Being on the grounds in 2004 for the final round was unlike anything I had ever seen. Not just the back-nine play and the winning birdie and mini-jump, but the pure joy that ensued. The monkey of “best player without a major” was off Mickelson’s back at last and the patrons were as thrilled as the man himself. Long after the ceremony on the putting green folks were wandering around, not wanting to leave.
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This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
