Masters final-round leaderboard
-11 R McIlroy (NI)*, J Rose (Eng)
*McIlroy wins after first hole of sudden-death play-off
Selected others:-9 P Reed (US); -8 S Scheffler (US); -7 B DeChambeau (US), Im (Kor); -6 L Aberg (Swe); -5 X Schauffele (US); -3 J Rahm, J Spieth (US), T Hatton (Eng); -2 T Fleetwood (Eng); -1 A Rai (Eng); +4 D Willett (Eng), S Lowry (Ire)
The emotion of 14 years of trying came flooding out of Rory McIlroy as he realised his lifetime's ambition of achieving golfing immortality with victory at Augusta National on Sunday.
McIlroy rolled in a three-foot putt to beat Justin Rose in a sudden-death play-off to finally win his first Masters title and complete the career Grand Slam in a hugely dramatic final round.
Having missed a par putt to win in regulation, McIlroy's birdie on the first extra hole denied his Ryder Cup team-mate as he claimed the biggest prize of his life.
McIlroy let out a huge roar before collapsing to the ground and weeping tears of joy at the end of an extraordinary day of sporting theatre.
"I would say it was 14 years in the making," an emotional McIlroy said, referencing the 2011 Masters when he threw away a four-shot lead in the final round.
"A lot of pent-up emotion came out on the 18th green. A moment like that makes all the years and all the close calls worth it."
Holding back more tears before he was helped into the Green Jacket by last year's winner Scottie Scheffler, McIlroy added: "I want to say hello to mum and dad back in Northern Ireland. I can't wait to see them next week and can't wait to celebrate with them."
Having won the US Open, The Open and two US PGA Championships by the end of 2014, McIlroy completes the full set of major championships at the 11th attempt.
He becomes the sixth man - and first European - to clinch the Slam, joining Americans Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods and South Africa's Gary Player.
It was another gut-wrenching Masters defeat for Rose, who also lost to Sergio Garcia in a play-off in 2017, but the 44-year-old Englishman deserves immense credit for bouncing back from a 75 on Saturday with a six-under 66 to push McIlroy all the way.
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McIlroy achieves dream on rollercoaster day
McIlroy's win is both the most significant achievement of his 18-year professional career and the culmination of a journey that has forced him to rebound from a series of major championship heartaches.
It is fitting, too, that it is the most thrilling win of his career given the highs and lows he experienced over the final 18 holes.
For a while, McIlroy threatened to add another to his list of recent near-misses. ...
