AUGUSTA, Ga. – In the warm, fading light at Augusta National Golf Club, Rory McIlroy slipped into the Green Jacket again at the award ceremony at the 90th Masters.
A year ago, after he outlasted Justin Rose in a sudden-death playoff to complete the career Grand Slam, Rory McIlroy concluded his remarks to the patrons by saying that he intended to come back here and put the jacket on himself. The implication being that he wanted to join select company – Jack Nicklaus in 1965-66, Nick Faldo in 1989-90, and Tiger Woods in 2001-02 – as the only players to repeat as Masters champions.
“I wasn’t quite correct,” McIlroy said, noting that Ridley did the honors. “I did want to come back here and prove that last year wasn’t a fluke.”
The Northern Irishman, 36, overcame a double bogey on the first nine and carded two birdies on the three-hole stretch known as Amen Corner to hold off a late charge by world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler to win by a stroke and collect his sixth career major championship.
Only a few puffy white clouds broke up the baby-blue canvas at Augusta National as McIlroy shot 1-under 71 and signed for a 72-hole total of 12-under 276.
McIlroy, who shared the 54-hole lead with Cameron Young, fell two behind after he tugged his tee shot at the par-3 fourth hole left and lipped out a short bogey putt. He dipped into single-digits at 9 under when he bogeyed No. 6. The patrons groaned when the score was posted up ahead at the leaderboard behind the seventh green but it would be the final dropped shot for McIlroy. He turned things around with birdies at Nos. 7 and 8, but Rose had shot past him reaching 12 under with four birdies before the turn.
Rose, who lost to Rory McIlroy in a sudden-death playoff last year, looked poised to flip the script, grabbing a two-stroke lead as he headed to the back nine, but he bogeyed Nos. 11 and 12 and made a three-putt par at No. 13. At 45, he remains the nearly-man, closing in 70, and finished T-3 with Tyrrell Hatton (66), Russell Henley (68) and Cameron Young (73). Amen Corner was kinder to McIlroy, who made an orthodox par at 11, drilled a beauty to 10 feet at 12 for birdie and mashed a 350-yard tee shot at 13 to set up another birdie and reach 13-under. That opened up a three-stroke lead for McIlroy, who completed the career Grand Slam at the Masters a year ago.
Holywood has its sequel. #themasters pic.twitter.com/L7N9el2aC3
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 12, 2026
Scheffler chased him to the finish line. After trailing by a dozen at the midway point, Scheffler posted 65 on Saturday to make up eight of those strokes. He made birdie on two of the first three holes on Sunday but the comeback stalled with 12 straight pars. He broke that streak with an improbable birdie at 15, his first birdie on either of the second nine par 5s all week. He birdied 16, too, to trim the deficit to two but that was as close as he could get.
Rory McIlroy shared the 18-hole lead with a 5-under 67, which led 1992 Masters champion Fred Couples to claim, “Rory may never lose this thing again after last year.”
Couples looked to be prescient when Rory McIlroy caught fire on Friday with birdies on six of his last seven holes, including a remarkable chip-in at 17, to shoot 65 and build a six-stroke lead, the largest 36-hole lead in Masters history. Scott Van Pelt, calling the action on ESPN, summed it up perfectly. “It felt like Zeus on Olympus throwing thunderbolts.”
But the Masters was far from over. It was simply halftime and Rory McIlroy would wobble to a 1-over 73 on Saturday as he fought a miss to the left. By the time he made bogey at 12, his lead was gone. Talk of a coronation ceremony was postponed but McIlroy kept things from spiraling out of control on Saturday, and a day later, he proved he could win a major without his best stuff. He played Amen Corner five strokes better on Sunday than he had the day before.
Still fits. #themasters pic.twitter.com/I7v0PAJV8u
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 12, 2026
There were several nerve-wracking moments for Rory McIlroy down the stretch beginning when his pitch to the 15th green hopped forward rather than spun back and he escaped with par. “Thanking my lucky stars with that one,” McIlroy said.
He added tidy up-and-downs at 16 and 17 before flaring his tee shot way right into the pine trees at 18 but a bogey was good enough for the victory.
For the 10th straight year, the winner came out of the final pairing. With a second Green Jacket, Rory McIlroy reached six career majors, tying him with England’s Nick Faldo and American Lee Trevino. Speaking before the tournament, McIlroy shared what a difference getting the monkey off his back could mean to him.
“I know that I can do it now, so that should make it a little easier for me to go out and play the golf I want to play.”
Sources: Golfweek
