2022 Masters: Rory McIlroy rekindling major championship fire among final takeaways from Augusta National

From Rory's run to an upside-down week, here are some final takeaways from the first major of the year

AUGUSTA, Ga, -- As far as blowouts go, the 2022 Masters was a great one. The first major championship of the year at Augusta National never truly got that close on the weekend, and yet there are seemingly a million things to discuss as the dust settles. Because I went deep on Scottie Scheffler on Sunday evening, I'd like to start with the silver medalist. Rory McIlroy shot the round of the day, and the tournament, by three strokes on Sunday while breathing some life into what could have been a snoozer of a finale.

It was, as most McIlroy downpours are, impossible not to get swept up in. That's his singular hold over this sport in the post-Tiger Woods era. Nobody cooks like Rory does, and when you marry that with his aspirational self-awareness and the fact that he's become the voice of the sport in so many ways, he will -- no matter what the scoreboard says -- remain a beacon of hope for fans searching for a thrill.

There are many ways to look at his 64 on Sunday. The first is that he was never truly in contention and that it's a fitting bookend to his collapse in 2011. One horrific memory and one all-time moment to take away from Augusta National for the McIlroy biography, but that it could also be his last meaningful moment at that tournament.