- Rory McIlroy finished second at the Masters, his highest major finish in almost four years.
- McIlroy started Sunday outside the top 10, but surged up the leaderboard with a scintillating eight-under-par 64.
- In doing so, McIlroy boosted his earnings for the tournament from $320,000 to $1.6 million.
Rory McIlroy started his final round at the Masters Sunday one over par and 10 shots back from leader Scottie Scheffler.
By the time McIlroy holed a spectacular bunker shot on the 18th green to shoot a record-equaling final round 64, the Northern Irishman was just three shots adrift of the American, having started the day outside the top 10.
While Scheffler held on to win his maiden major, McIlroy's Sunday surge boosted both his confidence and his bank balance.
Had McIlroy shot level par on Sunday, he would have finished the Masters tied for 12th, taking home somewhere in the region of $320,000 for his week's work.
His heroics during the final round, however, saw him rise up the leaderboard, and — thanks in part to Australia's Cam Smith fading on the back nine — take second place on seven under par for the tournament.
In doing so, McIlroy also picked up roughly $1.3 million more than he might have expected at the start of the day, winning $1.62 million for his exertions in Augusta.
To put that figure in perspective, when Bubba Watson won the tournament 10 years ago, his prize money was $1.44 million, $180,000 less than McIlroy's second-place check in 2022.
Scheffler, the 2022 winner, earned $2.7 million for his victory.
Rory's Sunday surge
McIlroy's 2022 Masters played out in a similar fashion to many of his major appearances since his last win in any of golf's four biggest tournaments, which took place in 2014: He started slowly, shooting one-over-par rounds of 73 in both of the first two days, before rallying with a one-under 71 on Saturday.
Come Sunday, McIlroy was on fire, shooting on of the most impressive final rounds in recent memory at majors, three shots lower than anyone else on the course.
At times, he looked back to the scintillating form that made him one of golf's most exciting talents when he burst onto the scene with his US Open win in 2011.
McIlroy's Sunday round featured no bogeys, six birdies, and an eagle, with the four-time major winner saving his best until last with an incredible bunker shot on the 72nd hole.
Having found the bunker off the tee on the par four 18th, McIlroy hit his second shot into another bunker, this time greenside. He looked to have little chance of making birdie thanks to Augusta's undulating, speedy greens, which made controlling a delicate bunker shot a tough proposition.
What followed was a sublime shot, which you can see below:
McIlroy landed the ball almost 40 feet above the hole, allowing it to feed slowly back down the slope, eventually trickling into the cup to secure a final hole birdie.
He and the crowd around the green went wild, and he signed off on both the joint-lowest round in Masters Sunday history — and a fat check.