2025 has been a golden year for golf.
A year of Scottie Scheffler consistency and Rory McIlroy glory. A year when Tommy Fleetwood claimed a first win on the PGA Tour and Marco Penge broke through on the DP World Tour. A year when the Ryder Cup made headlines for all the right (and all the wrong) reasons.
Our ranking of the top 10 shots played all year includes moments of magic, shots executed in unique circumstances and shots of great skill.
But the winner stands out because it included those three factors, but it was also played with the weight of history and the burden of personal pain on the player’s shoulders.
Here’s our top 10 shots of 2025…
1. Rory McIlroy approach to 15, The Masters
The Northern Irishman had not won a major championship since 2014 and had endured numerous Masters agonies. Surely this was his time? He led the tournament heading into the final round – and was then trailing within two holes.
He led again from the third green to the 13th fairway and had a simple pitch in front of him – whereupon he dumped it in the water. But the par-5 15th lay ahead of him – the golden chance to retrieve the situation.
His drive was good but it tucked him up too close to the trees on the left. His approach needed to draw around them and find the table top green with water short and long. It was now or never. Long awaited glory or yet more failure. Agony or ecstasy.
When the pressure was at its greatest, he executed the shot of his life finding the heart of the green.
2. Jon Rahm chip in, Ryder Cup
When the Spaniard’s partner Tyrrell Hatton missed the green at the 200-yard par-3 8th at Bethpage Black in the Ryder Cup, European hopes appeared dead.
Rahm had to stand in sand, with the ball held in tangly grass above him. He was short-sided, too, with just a few yards of green and all of it running away from him to the hole.
No bother. The big Basque bear showed he has touch as well as power, flipping the ball from its terrible position and running the ball into the hole. Pure class.
3. Justin Rose chip, Ryder Cup
The Englishman’s second shot at the par-5 13th in the Ryder Cup singles flared right into the trees. His third shot needed him to negotiate those trees, a TV tower, a poor lie, the ball sitting above his feet, a significant rise to the green – and he couldn’t see that green either. He also had US captain Keegan Bradley chuntering alongside him, angry that Rose had any shot at all.
Rose played many great shots that week, but this was the best of the lot. It not only found the green, it also span back to the pin and set up a winning birdie.
4. Rory McIlroy approach, Ryder Cup
As McIlroy prepared to hit his approach from the first cut on 16 he was heckled, and heckled, and heckled again. He stood back, told those responsible to “shut the f**k up”, got back to his ball, and stuffed it close for the birdie.
Pure drama.
5. JJ Spaun 64 foot putt, US Open
The American had played a terrible front nine in the final round of the year’s third major but bounced back after the turn and a birdie at 18 would win him the title. His approach left him 64 feet across the green which he drained.
“What a putt to win it,” said a watching Tyrrell Hatton. “Absolutely filthy.”
6. Scottie Scheffler chip in, BMW Championship
The World No. 1 and Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre had scrapped through the final round, but Scheffler led by one when both missed the green at 17. It appeared as if the American had the tougher up-and-down. He needed to hack the ball free of gnarly grass and then run it delicately across the surface.
He did so perfectly and holed it. The watching MacIntyre was crushed.
7. Rory McIlroy eagle putt, Irish Open
To tie the clubhouse lead of Sweden’s Joakim Lagergren, McIlroy needed an eagle-3 at the 72nd hole. He found the green in two and had 25-feet to force a play-off. The watching galleries readied themselves to explode.
The putt was perfect and the crowd did explode.
8. Jon Rahm from high grass, Ryder Cup
Deja vu! The Spaniard’s partner Hatton had missed the fairway by a long, long way at the 6th in the Ryder Cup. The ball found high grass that clung to Rahm’s legs never mind his ball. He needed to hit the green because his opponents had knocked their ball to 15 feet.
Rahm smashed his to 12 feet.
9. Nick Taylor chip in, Sony Open
The Canadian knew he liked Waialae Country Club. In his two previous visits he had finished seventh both times. He wanted the win and was two back of the lead playing the par-5 18th in the final round. His approach shot pulled up short of the green and he had 58-feet to the flag.
He popped it in the hole and later won the play-off.
10. Akshay Bhatia hole in one, BMW Championship
Any hole in one is good, of course, but some are better than others. The American’s came in competition, which is good. It also earned him a car, which is great. But it was also crucial in vaulting him, in the penultimate event of the season, into the top 30 which earned him a spot in the Tour Championship.
A special ace.
Read next: 7 crucial shots that finally won Rory McIlroy the 2025 Masters
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