Major Takeaways
Presenting Major Takeaways.
There’s a lot to unpack the mornings after majors. Our lives in the office are focused on product design and development – but the history made Sunday was truly epic. We spoke at length about what Augusta 2025 means for Rory and for all of us in the golf world. We documented these conversations and hope to include you in them in the future.
Great for the game
Players around the world can learn a lot from Rory McIlroy’s victory at Augusta on Sunday. Squandering a two-shot lead with a three-putt double bogey on the first hole is absolutely brutal. Finding the bunker with his tee shot on the par-5 second, then leaving a score-able wedge shot well above the hole with his third… frustrating. Rory had every opportunity to crater on Sunday. To see the best player in the world make very human mistakes only to get off the mat and keep punching colors Rory’s fifth major as one of the more genuine, authentic victories in recent history. We’ve all been there. Bad starts and mid-round turbulence are nothing new to anyone who plays this game. That’s what made this Masters win particularly human. Rory’s elusive Green Jacket hung in the balance until the last revolution. Even the decisive game-winner wasn’t good until it was.
It’s rare to see so much unscripted personality from media-trained athletes in 2025. Even Rory's counterparts and their families expressed genuine joy in real time, despite suffering defeat. The packaged, polished, brand-approved content we see on screen can get stale – all the post-game emotion was refreshing.
It always comes down to a putt
Speaking of game winners, you never walk away with the win without finding the bottom of the cup. Save the drive for show, putt for dough clichés for the next guys – Rory McIlroy is who he is because he absolutely cracks the egg. We’re still drooling over those towering approach shots over the weekend – but even for us mere mortals, it really doesn’t matter until you’re on the putting surface. Two hundred yard carries and two-foot sliders require the same concentration – and to be fair, we should all probably give greater attention to the latter.
Augusta Atmosphere
Setting is a central component of any story. Settings become characters themselves in great stories. Augusta National is the Huckleberry Finn of American sports theatre. The particular shade of green. The sound of the David Loggins piano. The rockabye to Jim Nantz’s tenor. The roar of the crowd and the waves of hands that rise and fall as the players battle through the back nine. Every year they paint a familiar but tantalizing portrait of a place central to both the history and the future of the game of golf. This weekend was no different. There have been structural changes to tree lines and tee boxes. There have been years with thinner crowds. There have been tournaments moved for world events bigger than the game. The Masters in 2025 was truly one for the ages, and the players and the patrons alike deserve a round of applause from those of us at home this weekend. What a show.
A fickle game
If you told Bryson DeChambeau on Saturday night that -11 would tie for the lead on Sunday night, he’d foam at the mouth. But on Sunday afternoon, Bryson’s boastful ball striking slowly failed him. Never shy to express himself, hot mics confirmed what the shot traces showed viewers at home: Bryson was a little quick and a little left all day. Similar to Mr. McIlroy, whose ups and downs were surely something we could all relate to, Bryson’s struggles were real. But his maturity is impressive. A younger version of B.D. might complain about a breeze not felt, an unfriendly lip, a gnarly lie. Bryson battled through a disappointing 75 like the champion he is — sometimes, you just don’t have it.
What the future holds for Rory
Rory’s win will echo across the sports-scape for months. After capturing both the Players and the Masters in less than 30 days, it’s tempting to roll out the carpet for what could be the defining year of Rory’s career. Quail Hollow in May for the PGA, a venue that he might as well own: 4 wins (including his first ever) at the Wells Fargo as well as a mountainous -21 scoring record in 2015. Oakmont in June for the U.S. Open – a course that, according to some OCC members, should set up well for McIlroy. And back home to Northern Ireland for the Open Championship at Royal Portrush. Only time will tell what shedding the Masters monkey will mean for the next stage of McIlroy's career. But fans around the world will eagerly await the first round at Quail Hollow on May 15th.
