With the seven-shot victory over fellow LIV golfer Peter Uihlein, 22-year-old Northern Irishman Tom McKibbin earned exemptions into the 2026 Masters and Open Championship.
Thailand’s Pongsapak “Fifa” Laopakdee has a ritual during tournaments where he sings songs to calm the nerves. There were plenty on Sunday during the final round of the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship, where the Arizona State college golfer won a dramatic playoff at the Emirates Golf Club to punch his ticket to the 2026 Masters and 154th Open Championship.
Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley said a surge in the percentage of international players competing in the Masters in recent years was the inspiration to award the winners of the Australian Open and five other national opens a spot into the April major in the future.
The Australian Open has been given an enormous boost by being named as one of a handful of national championships that will award the champion an invitation to the Masters, after a bombshell announcement by Augusta National and the R&A.
Rory McIlroy swears he will never get tired of signing Masters flags after his victory in April at Augusta National Golf Club. He’ll have at least 1,100 chances to prove it.
In the week leading up to Rory McIlroy’s emotional green jacket victory at Augusta National in April, the Northern Irishman was wearing another green garment—an ancient and sacred stone gifted to him in New Zealand late last year.
The PGA Tour officially closes the book on the 2025 Masters on Thursday at the RBC Heritage, but the reverberations of Rory McIlroy’s career-Grand-Slam-clinching victory continue to reverberate across the world.
Rory McIlroy’s breakthrough win at the 2025 Masters didn’t just etch his name into golfing immortality — it also delivered a $76,500 bonanza for Australian club golfers who took a punt on the Northern Irishman through an audacious tour company promotion.