Rory McIlroy’s Pebble Beach win came with an unexpected gift

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — It was hard to know which opponent Rory McIlroy was chasing — the golf course, or sunset — but it was not hard to see the outcome. He was flying.

It was early on Tuesday evening at Pebble Beach, five days before McIlroy would be anointed winner of the biggest event of the nascent 2025 PGA Tour season, and the mood was light. McIlroy and caddie Harry Diamond were locked in the latest edition of a yearlong practice round competition. Diamond sets a score for McIlroy to reach. If McIlroy shoots the number or better, he wins; if he doesn’t, he loses.

On Tuesday evening, the number was four under, and McIlroy was in good position. He’d made three birdies before he stepped to the 14th tee box. They’d played two-thirds of the golf course in roughly two hours. An inviting closing stretch awaited in serene weather. Victory was secure.

McIlroy, Diamond and another longtime friend were some of the only souls left on the course as they reached the 14th, but the solitude did not seem to bother them. On a week when McIlroy would be asked in ways subtle and overt to carry the load for a Tour in an “inflection year” (their words), Tuesday afternoon is a time to worry about smaller things.

For the evening, at least, McIlroy could forget about giving — to the Tour, his fans, the media, everyone — and remember to receive.

So long as he moved quickly.

“He might get to four under … if we finish,” Diamond said, chuckling as he peered out on the horizon from the 14th tee box. “Otherwise, he’s gonna be really upset when it’s pitch-dark on the 18th.”

By the time Rory McIlroy reached the same spot on Sunday at Pebble Beach, everyone within 100 yards (and 100 miles) knew what was coming next.

On the 14th hole, McIlroy blasted a tee shot over a drooping Cypress tree to the right of the tee box and out of orbit. His drive apexed more than 100 feet in the air, falling safely in the center of the fairway what looked like half a mile away. He was left with a 7-iron into the green on the longest, most imposing hole on the course. His ball was the manifestation of his golf game’s physical might. He seemed to be pointing a finger into the chest of the longest-hitting golfers on the planet and wondering… Is that all?

“We both hit seven there,” said McIlroy’s playing partner Sepp Straka, who is hardly a lightweight. “His was 7-iron, and mine was 7-wood.”

A few minutes later, McIlroy walked off the 14th green with a grin. After disappointing pars on Friday and Saturday, McIlroy made an eagle to go up by four. He’d given Pebble Beach a signature moment. He’d given the PGA Tour a must-see finish. And he’d given the rest of the field someone to chase. In four short holes, McIlroy would be the third player of the last 30 years — after Tiger and Phil — to win 27 PGA Tour events.