AUGUSTA, Ga. — Rory McIlroy had to wait more than a decade to win the Masters and complete a career Grand Slam.
He only had to wait a year to take home the second green jacket.
After blowing a record six-stroke lead in Saturday’s third round, McIlroy lost the lead again Sunday before taking the lead on the second nine at Augusta National to become the first back-to-back Masters champion since Tiger Woods in 2001-02 and fourth overall (Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo).
A day after his 1-over 73 opened the door for several golfers, McIlroy posted a 71 despite a bogey on the 18th to win by one stroke at 12-under 276.
“It felt very similar to last year,” McIlroy said. “I double-boged the first hole last year. I double-fourted this year. Then I played flawless golf after that. I made four birdies and no bogeys going to the last tee knowing I had a one-shot lead. It’s nice to have that two-shot cushion instead of the one I had last year.”
McIlroy became only the fourth golfer in the last 40 years to hold the lead or tie for the lead after each round of the Masters, according to ESPN Research.
With his sixth championship win, the Northern Irishman joined England’s Faldo for second place among European golfers. Only England’s Harry Vardon won more than seven from 1896 to 1914.
Like last year, this Masters victory didn’t come without a lot of drama on the 18th hole. Holding a double lead, McIlroy miscut his drive into the trees on the right, his ball nearly landing on the edge of the 10th fairway. Standing on pine straw, McIlroy holed an 8-iron high over the trees into the bunker on the left 18th. He hit 12 feet and two-putted for a bogey and a one-shot victory on No. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who finished 11 under.
Thanks to two late birdies, Scheffler closed with a 68 and became the first golfer since World War II to go bogey free in the final two rounds of the Masters.
LIV Golf’s Tyrrell Hatton, Russell Henley, Justin Rose and Cameron Young tied for third at 10 under.
“I hit it amazing today,” Henley said. “I gave myself a lot of looks. Unfortunately, I didn’t use those looks from the back as much as I would have liked. I felt like I handled the pressure well, I handled the situations well. It was tricky there.”
McIlroy looked in trouble early in his round. After birdieing the par-4 third, he triple-bogeyed the par-3 fourth to drop to 10 under. A bogey on the par-3 sixth dropped him to 9 under, two shots behind Young.
Early mistakes had McIlroy looking at the scoreboards for his round.
“I felt like I had to, especially after a rough start,” he said. “I needed to know where I was in the tournament, and after the sixth hole I was like, ‘Okay, if I can get back even when I’m going for the day,’ which I did with birdies on 7 and 8, I knew I was going to be there going into the back nine. I was always looking at it all day.
“Thank you there [were] a few guys running but it’s not like what Justin did last year with the 66. Another good play by me, and luckily the guys didn’t get to me this year either.”
McIlroy took control at Amen Corner, Augusta National’s famous three-hole course from Nos. 11 to 13.
He made the par-4 11th to save one shot over four golfers, then hit his tee shot with a 9-iron high above the par-3 12th green. His ball landed right, landing 7 feet from the hole. McIlroy’s birdie putt broke right and landed in the cup for a two-shot lead.
Then on the par-5 13th, McIlroy hit a 350-yard drive down the right side, leaving him 183 yards from the hole. His tee shot went off the back of the green, about 22 yards from it. McIlroy drove the green to 11 feet and birdied the putt for a three-stroke lead with five holes to play.
“I think I tee shot 12 and tee shot 13, to give me a chance to pick the green twice,” McIlroy said when asked if there was a standout shot on Sunday. “I struggled with that tee game all week. I was up on the pine grass there too many times, and I made a really good swing off the 13th fairway, and that helped me get two greens. To make a birdie on the 12th, that was huge.”
Rose, a three-time runner-up at Augusta National after losing to McIlroy in the final last year, started the final round three strokes behind McIlroy and Young. But he closed the first nine with three straight birdies to move to 12 under and take a two-stroke lead when he made the turn.
However, it was another sad ending for Rose. On the 11th, he pushed his approach to the right. He jumped over the bunker on his third shot and couldn’t make the 15 foot par. The bogey dropped him to 11 under, tied with McIlroy.
Rose’s shot on the 12th was wide and left. Somehow, he clipped his chip shot behind the green, leaving his ball in the rough. He putts to 5 feet and makes another bogey, falling one behind McIlroy.
The 45-year-old, who was trying to become a second Masters champion, appeared to find momentum in his approach on the 5th 15th. From 197 yards, Rose took an aggressive drive and his ball bounced onto the green and landed 30 feet from the hole. But Rose missed an eagle putt, then an 8-foot birdie attempt and had to three-putt par, leaving him two behind McIlroy.
“I’m just thinking [a] that went away, obviously,” Rose said. “You know, I wasn’t exactly the free and clear type and I wasn’t even close to doing the job, but I was in the right frame of mind. You know, Amen Corner, without hitting a bad shot but not just [a] nice gun, not dedicated enough maybe [11th approach] shooting directly, it was like two rescues.”
Scheffler put himself back in the hunt for a third green jacket with a 7-under 65 on Saturday. He made two early birdies in the final round but then carded 11 straight before birdies on Nos. 15 and 16.
“Overall I won’t have many regrets, but yeah, I’m really disappointed now,” he said. “But like I said, I started the weekend 12 shots back and ended up only one shot back. If I’m going to blame anything, I have to blame the first two rounds before I start looking at things from the last couple.”
