With a second-straight Green Jacket earned, Rory McIlroy has claimed a seat at one of golf’s most exclusive tables. On Sunday, he joined Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods in the rare feat of consecutive victories at The Masters Tournament.
The 36-year-old Irishman finished 12-under par, carding rounds of 67, 65, 73 and 71 across the four-day event. With a short, tap-in bogey-putt on 18, he secured the win and etched his name further into the history books.
The road to glory was anything but smooth for McIlroy. In his final round, a double bogey on the fourth hole knocked the defending champ two strokes off the lead. His situation worsened on the sixth, when a misjudged tee shot carried him over the back of the green, leading to a two-putt bogey.
As the chances of wearing green started to fade, McIlroy responded with four birdies in the following seven holes, building a two-stroke lead with five to play. The final putt on the eighteenth green marked Rory’s sixth major title, following last year’s triumph which completed the career grand slam.
Far from a runaway, McIlroy was joined atop the leaderboard on Sunday by multiple contenders in line for a Green Jacket. Amongst this tight pact was 2022 and 2024 Masters champion Scottie Scheffler. With a final round of 68, Scheffler rallied to 11-under par, one stroke short of eking out a comeback. Nonetheless, his performance over the weekend notched his fourth top 5 finish in 2026.
One of the more notable performances of the weekend was that of 28-year-old Cameron Young. His 7-under round on Saturday catapulted him to a share of the lead with McIlroy heading into the final 18 holes. Young’s back-to-back bogeys on the front nine allowed Rory to restore his position as the sole leader heading towards the back.
While few surged at Augusta, most crumbled. Unforeseen by many, 2024 U.S. Open winner Bryson DeChambeau aligned with the latter. In his tenth Masters start, DeChambeau got into trouble quickly. Failing to get out of a greenside bunker on hole 11, he carded a triple bogey and finished the opening day four-over.
At the very end of his second round, he found himself once again trapped in the sand. The nightmare scene on 18 caused DeChambeau to miss out on the final two rounds as the season pro fell above the cut by two strokes.
For the winning party, the historic accomplishment was anything but expected. “I just can’t believe I waited 17 years to get one Green Jacket and I get two in a row,” McIlroy said afterwards. As his record six-stroke lead through 36 holes vanished by the start of Sunday, his performance stands as one of struggle and resilience. Something true to the nature of golf and the art of The Masters.