In a dramatic day of golf at Augusta National Golf Club, Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy etched his name into Masters tournament history on Sunday, clinching consecutive green jackets and capturing his sixth career major championship with a one-stroke win over world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler.
The 36-year-old world No. 2 overcame a rocky start to his final round, carding a double bogey on the fourth hole and another bogey on the sixth to fall off his early pace. But McIlroy dug in, sinking four birdies across the next seven holes to climb back into contention, and held off a late charge from the field despite a series of wobbly final-hole tee shots to claim the historic win and the tournament’s record $4.5 million top prize.
With the victory, McIlroy becomes just the fourth player in Masters history to win back-to-back titles, joining golf legends Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods and Nick Faldo. He finished the final round with a one-under-par 71, ending the four-day tournament at 12-under-par 276—one stroke ahead of Scheffler, who carded a bogey-free 68 on Sunday to finish at 277.
The win comes one year after McIlroy claimed his first ever Masters title in 2025, completing his career Grand Slam and snapping a 10-year drought without a major championship win. This year’s win marked the rare wire-to-wire triumph, after McIlroy set a 36-hole Masters record with a six-stroke lead heading into the weekend. “I just can’t believe I waited 17 years to get one green jacket and you know I get two in a row. It’s just sort of the way,” McIlroy told reporters after the round. “I think all of my perseverance at this golf tournament over the years has really started to pay off.”
Due to his defending champion status, Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley stepped in to place the iconic green jacket on McIlroy, a ceremonial role normally reserved for the previous year’s winner. McIlroy acknowledged that the final two days of play were far from his best, noting he did the majority of his scoring work in the opening rounds Thursday and Friday, and had to fight to maintain his lead through the weekend. “It was a tough weekend. I did the bulk of my work on Thursday and Friday,” McIlroy said. “But just so, so happy to hang in there and get the job done.”
McIlroy struggled with driving accuracy all tournament, ranking third-from-last in the field for the week. He pulled off a critical par save from the trees on the 15th hole, but faced a do-or-die moment on the 18th, when he sent his tee shot sailing over the right-side pines and landed near the fairway of the adjacent 10th hole, putting his victory in serious jeopardy. With the title on the line, McIlroy pulled off a spectacular approach shot that curled around the pine trees and landed in a greenside bunker. He blasted out to 12 feet from the pin and two-putted for bogey to lock in the win.
“It’s nice to have that two-shot cushion instead of the one like I had last year,” McIlroy said, referencing his 2025 victory that required a playoff to secure. After sinking the final putt, McIlroy shouted in celebration and lifted his arms in triumph, before walking off the 18th green to hug his wife Erica, daughter Poppy and his parents.
Scheffler, a four-time major champion who was seeking his third Masters title in five seasons, praised McIlroy after the round, acknowledging he had put up a strong fight but fell just short. “Over the weekend I put up a good fight, did a lot of good stuff in order to give myself a chance and ultimately came up a couple shots short,” Scheffler said.
Four players tied for third place at 278: England’s Tyrrell Hatton and Justin Rose, and Americans Russell Henley and Cameron Young. For Rose, the 2013 US Open champion who has now finished second at the Masters three times, the near-miss left him frustrated. Rose had climbed into a share of the lead at 12-under after birdieing four of the last five holes on the front nine, but bogeys on 11 and 12 opened the door for McIlroy to take the lead for good. “I felt like there was an opportunity to do better, so obviously that’s frustrating for sure,” Rose said.
McIlroy capitalized on the opening, sinking a seven-foot birdie putt on the par-three 12th after a stellar tee shot, then followed it up with an 11-foot birdie putt on the par-five 13th to extend his lead to three strokes. McIlroy pointed to those two holes as the turning point of the final round. “I think the tee shot on 12 and then the tee shot on 13, just to give me the option to go for the green in two, were the day’s key shots,” he said. “I made a really good committed swing off the 13th tee, and that enabled me to go for the green in two and to make a birdie there, following the birdie on 12. That was massive.” Four consecutive pars and the closing bogey were enough to hold off the field and secure McIlroy’s place in Masters history.