Trying to win the Masters invokes emotions that an average Joe will likely never experience.
“I thought it was so difficult to win last year because of trying to win the Masters and the Grand Slam,” Rory McIlroy said after claiming his second consecutive green jacket, “and then this year I realized it’s just really difficult to win the Masters.”
How was he feeling down the stretch?
Data from the WHOOP tracker he wears on the course revealed that when McIlroy, holding a two-stroke lead, sliced his drive into the trees on the 72nd hole, his heart rate jumped to 135 beats per minute. Then, after his second shot, it dipped to 121 beats per minute, a sign of composure. However, when that shot landed in the bunker, the Northern Irishman was back up to 136. After his out, he was down to 117 beats per minute and then, with a tap-in for the title, dropped to 105.
Soaking in the victory on the 18th green, though, with tears in his eyes as his parents watched on for the first time in Augusta, McIlroy peaked at 150 beats per minute.
"Rory is a rare repeat winner at Augusta!" pic.twitter.com/f9GLKxvGZM
— Golf on CBS ⛳ (@GolfonCBS) April 12, 2026
According to WHOOP, at a moment when most players’s nervousness would skyrocket, McIlroy physiologically calmed down. Perhaps that’s why he is a six-time major champion and one of the greatest players of this generation.
Over the course of four rounds, McIlroy’s WHOOP recovery, which is “a daily measure of how prepared your body is to perform,” was 87% on Sunday, 94% on Saturday, 79% on Friday and 89% on Thursday.
He also slept an average of eight and a half hours a night during the tournament.
And walking eight holes requires many miles and a lot of time on your feet. McIlroy took over 24,000 steps on Sunday and had 91,247 steps across all four rounds.
“It’s hard to win golf tournaments,” McIlroy said. “Especially around here. You’ve had maybe a couple of runaway winners over the years, but it always seems to be a very tight finish at this golf course. I think it’s the nature of the golf course, it’s the nature of what’s at stake.”
More Golf from Sports Illustrated
- I Went to the Masters For the First Time. Here’s What I’ll Always Remember
- NBC’s Lead Golf Analyst Tears into CBS Over Sunday’s Rough Masters Broadcast: ‘What Are We Doing?’
- Sergio Garcia Apologizes for Sunday Rampage at the Masters
- With His Triumph at Augusta, Rory McIlroy Joined Another Exclusive Club
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Rory McIlroy's Heart Rate Was off the Charts on the 18th Hole on Sunday.
