AUGUSTA, Ga. — Rory McIlroy is a two-time Masters champion, repeating at Augusta National after a tense Sunday that did not require the tearful collapse he displayed a year ago but tested him just the same.
McIlroy surrendered a six-shot lead in the third round and trailed Cameron Young and Justin Rose during a dramatic final day, then answered with big birdies around Amen Corner to reclaim command. His victory completed another green-jacket moment and made him one of the few to win the Masters in consecutive years — joining Tiger Woods, Nick Faldo and Jack Nicklaus.
“I thought it was so difficult to win last year because of trying to win the Masters and the Grand Slam, and then this year I realized it’s just really difficult to win the Masters,” McIlroy said after holding on for a one-shot win over Scottie Scheffler. “Just incredible.”
McIlroy’s Sunday was a study in nerves and recovery. His wedge barely cleared the false front at the par-5 15th. He tested the slopes with a putt from behind the 16th green that hooked down to inches to save par. He chipped for par at 17. Needing to protect a two-shot lead on 18, his tee shot drifted toward the 10th fairway, but he hit an 8-iron around trees into a bunker, blasted out to 12 feet and two-putted for bogey, carding a 1-under 71. He finished at 12-under 276 and celebrated with raised arms after making good on a promise to wear the jacket himself — this year presented by Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley, the first time since Tiger’s back-to-back in 2002 that the chairman performed the honor.
McIlroy’s win gives him six major titles, tying him with Nick Faldo, Lee Trevino and Phil Mickelson, and deepens his affinity for Augusta after last year’s career Grand Slam achievement. He seized control with a gutsy 9-iron over Rae’s Creek to 7 feet for birdie at the par-3 12th and followed with a booming 350-yard drive on the par-5 13th to set up another birdie and a three-shot advantage.
President Donald Trump sent congratulations on social media during his flight back to Washington, calling McIlroy “more and more a LEGEND!” McIlroy’s next start is expected to be the Cadillac Championship at Trump Doral.
For Rose, the result stung. The 45-year-old, seeking to become the second-oldest Masters champion behind Jack Nicklaus (46 in 1986), briefly led with a stunning up-and-down birdie from the trees to a foot at the seventh and rattled off three straight birdies to close the front nine. But bogeys and a three-putt par around Amen Corner erased his advantage, leaving him to wonder what might have been.
Young’s early challenge fizzled after a long three-putt on the par-3 sixth and a bogey the next hole when his wedge from the fairway found a bunker. He closed with nine straight pars and said he had little to regret despite missing chances.
Scheffler, the world No. 1, staged a remarkable comeback over the weekend — he began the weekend 12 shots back and played a bogey-free 65-68 to climb into contention — but his run of 11 straight pars early in the final round was not enough to overtake McIlroy. Scheffler finished as runner-up, his third second-place in a major alongside four major wins. His bogey-free weekend was the first at Augusta since 1942.
McIlroy credited a memory from his first Masters practice round in 2009, when Tom Watson advised waiting for the right wind at the tricky 12th. His three-quarter 9-iron there drifted right but landed perfectly — closer than any other shot all day. “That was a really good golf shot at the right time,” he said.
Once haunted by the pursuit of the green jacket, McIlroy now has won it twice in a row. A year ago he asked, “What are we going to talk about next year?” Now the unanswered question is whether anyone will ever win three straight — a feat no one has achieved at Augusta.