McIlroy Wins Masters... 'Best Moment of the Year'

Career Grand Slam Achieved with Victories in All Four Majors
Scheffler and Thitikul Usher in a New Era of Dominance
Lee Seungtaek and Yumin Hwang Earn Their Place on the U.S. Stage
Japanese Golf Legend "Jumbo" Ozaki Passes Away

Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) enjoyed the best moment of his year.

In April, he won the Masters and completed the career Grand Slam by capturing all four major championships. This is only the sixth time in history such a feat has been achieved. Ranked No. 2 in the world, he claimed three victories on the PGA Tour this year, including the Masters. He also won The Players Championship, known as the "fifth major." This was selected by The Asia Business Daily as one of the top five golf news stories of 2025.

Rory McIlroy cheers after making the winning birdie on the first hole of the Masters playoff, the 18th hole. Photo by AFP Yonhap News

Scottie Scheffler (United States) and Atthaya Thitikul (Thailand) emerged as the dominant players on the men's and women's tours, respectively. World No. 1 Scheffler played in 20 PGA Tour events this year and secured an impressive six victories. Although he started the season late due to a palm injury, he still captured two major titles at the PGA Championship and The Open. In the past 40 years, Scheffler is only the second player after Tiger Woods (United States), the "golf emperor," to achieve six or more PGA Tour wins in consecutive years.

Thitikul surpassed Nelly Korda (United States) to become the world's top female golfer. Last month, she won the CME Group Tour Championship, the final event of the LPGA Tour season, for the second consecutive year, earning her third win of the season and seventh career victory. She ranked No. 1 this season in categories such as Player of the Year, money list, scoring average, and CME Group points. Thitikul also broke the all-time lowest season scoring average set by Annika Sorenstam (Sweden) in 2002, as well as the LPGA Tour single-season earnings record.

"Bear" Lee Seungtaek and "Attack Leader" Yumin Hwang also created meaningful moments. Lee Seungtaek, a long hitter on the Korea Professional Golfers' Association (KPGA) Tour, earned the right to compete on the PGA Tour. After finishing fifth in last year's Genesis Points, he advanced directly to the second stage of PGA Tour Q-School and tied for 14th in the Q-School Finals, securing a Korn Ferry Tour card awarded to the top 40 players. This year, Lee finished runner-up once and placed in the top 10 six times on the Korn Ferry Tour. By ranking third in Korn Ferry Tour points, he will debut on the PGA Tour next year.

Yumin Hwang is smiling brightly while holding the trophy right after winning the LPGA Tour Lotte Championship. Photo by AFP Yonhap News

Yumin Hwang, who has three career wins on the Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Tour, received an invitation to play in the LPGA Tour Lotte Championship in October and claimed the title. She also earned a tour card for the U.S. next year. Last month, Hwang capped off the season with a victory at the Daebo HausD Championship, the KLPGA Tour's final event. She demonstrated her strength by winning in the United States, Taiwan, and Korea this year.

A star has fallen. Masashi "Jumbo" Ozaki (Japan), who holds the record for most wins in Japan Golf Tour Organization (JGTO) history with 94 victories, passed away at the age of 78. Born in 1947, Ozaki had been battling colon cancer since being diagnosed a year ago. He captured his first title at the 1971 Japan PGA Championship and achieved 94 wins on the JGTO from the 1973 Kanto Pro Championship to the 2002 ANA Open. His victory at the 2002 ANA Open at 55 years and 7 months old remains the oldest winner record on the JGTO. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2011.