Rory McIlroy claimed back-to-back Masters titles with a tense one-shot win, holding off Scottie Scheffler’s final-round push to secure a second Green Jacket in two years and complete a historic defence of the title at Augusta National.
The 36-year-old arrived on Sunday under pressure after losing a record halfway advantage, yet recovered from an early stumble in the final round to post enough birdies on the back nine and edge clear, despite carding a bogey at the 18th after finding trees and a bunker.
By closing out victory on 11 under par, McIlroy became a six-time major champion and entered a select Augusta group with Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Nick Faldo as players who have won the Masters in consecutive years, matching Woods’ 2001 and 2002
feat, Nicklaus’ 1965 and 1966 double, and Faldo’s 1989 and 1990 run.
The Northern Irishman finally completed the career Grand Slam at Augusta the previous year, having beaten Justin Rose in a play-off, and this defence ended a 24-year wait for anyone to retain the Masters title, underlining how rare consecutive wins at this tournament remain in the modern era.
Scheffler, ranked world number one, mounted serious pressure ahead of the final holes, delivering a flawless 68 that featured birdies on the 15th and 16th and a near miss on the 17th, and that round also made Scheffler the first player on record, since 1942, to play the last two rounds at Augusta without a bogey.
That charge still fell just short as McIlroy reached the 18th with a narrow cushion, then sliced the tee shot into the trees and left the second in sand before playing a deft chip onto the green that allowed a closing bogey and a short, nervy winning putt, which McIlroy needed a moment to compose for before tapping in.
pic.twitter.com/vdU5XorM8kThe Masters (@TheMasters) April 12, 2026
Rory McIlroy Masters turnaround after Saturday collapse
The path to victory had looked far from certain after McIlroy’s Saturday collapse, when the largest midway lead in Masters history slipped away and Cameron Young caught McIlroy at the top, leaving a tight leaderboard and raising doubts about whether McIlroy could become the first successful defending champion at Augusta since 2002.
Sunday began badly for McIlroy, with a double bogey at the fourth and another dropped shot at the sixth, while Justin Rose surged into the lead by collecting five birdies over the opening nine holes, yet McIlroy steadied the round with birdies on seven and eight to halt the slide.
The key stretch arrived on the back nine, where McIlroy picked up further birdies at the 12th and 13th and then escaped trouble two holes later when a wayward shot somehow stayed dry near the water, helping create a two-stroke cushion that proved vital once Scheffler’s bogey-free push from ahead on the course was complete.
| Player | Position | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Rory McIlroy | 1st | -11 |
| Scottie Scheffler | 2nd | -11 (final-round 68, bogey-free last two rounds) |
| Tyrell Hatton | T3 | -10 |
| Russell Henley | T3 | -10 |
| Cameron Young | T3 | -10 |
| Justin Rose | T3 | -10 |
| Sam Burns | T4 | -9 |
| Collin Morikawa | T4 | -9 |
Rory McIlroy Masters leaderboard moves and chasing pack
Behind the champion, Tyrell Hatton made the biggest move among the leading contenders by jumping 12 places with a round of 66 to finish tied for third on ten under, sharing that mark with Russell Henley, Young and Rose, whose three bogeys on the back nine revived memories of earlier Masters disappointments.
Sam Burns provided one of the moments of the day by holing a 60-foot putt on the 16th, yet immediately bogeyed the 17th and closed at nine under in a tie for fourth with Collin Morikawa, while Hideki Matsuyama’s 69 and Jordan Spieth’s 68 lifted both into a share of 12th with Brooks Koepka, Patrick Reed, Patrick Cantlay and Jason Day.
McIlroy’s narrow win, secured after setbacks on Saturday and early on Sunday, adds another major title to an already decorated record and places the name alongside Woods, Nicklaus and Faldo in Masters history, while strong final rounds from Hatton, Scheffler and others ensured a packed leaderboard that held attention deep into the closing holes.
