The Masters Tournament is a symbolic start of spring in North America, and the hundreds of acres of magnificent flora at Augusta National Golf Club — azaleas, pink dogwood, yellow jasmine, magnolia and oak trees, and hundreds more varieties of flowers, shrubs and trees for which the course’s 18 holes are famously named — are a breathtaking backdrop for the first major tournament of the men’s golf season.
Rory McIlroy, a 35-year-old Irishman who had previously competed in the Masters 16 times, won his first green jacket on Sunday. The tournament ended in a playoff between McIlroy and Englishman Justin Rose, who both ended the final round at 11 under par.
McIlroy’s win places him among a select few golfers to achieve a career Grand Slam — victories in golf’s four major championships. He narrowly missed a Masters win in 2022 when he finished as runner-up.
