Augusta, Georgia – It’s taken Rory McIlroy nearly two decades to finally win a green jacket, and in one year, he has managed to grab to two.
He looked like a sure thing to repeat after leading by 6 after round 2 on Friday, but with Rory comes drama. The 90th edition of the Masters had a little bit of everything… and once again Rory McIlroy was the main character of the story.
After two brilliant rounds of 67-65 to begin the first major of 2026, McIlroy made a mess on Saturday – allowing the peleton to reel him in after a third round 73.
It was Cam Young who did the bulk of the heavy work, catching the Ulsterman after a brilliant Saturday 65. They both entered the final round at 11 under par, and with several major champions lurking, it appeared that we may be in for another instant classic.
Once again, the recently minted grand slam champion realized – no matter how many of these you win, the battle is within… especially at Augusta National.
An early double bogey at the par-3 fourth hole and a bogey at the par-3 sixth hole put McIlroy in danger of falling too far off the pace—Cameron Young, who was at 11-under par. McIlroy had slid down to 9 under.
Both players bogeyed the sixth. McIlroy righted the ship, making birdies on the par-4 seventh, and the par-5 eighth. In what seemed like an instant, McIlroy was back at 11-under par and tied with Young for the lead.
Perhaps the shot of the week came at Golden Bell, the trickiest par 3 in major championship golf. McIlroy played the left-to-right breeze to perfection, hitting a 9 iron over the right edge of the bunker to within 7 feet of the forbidden far right hole location. Nobody hit it closer all day.
His best drive of the week came next, around the corner – 358 yards leaving only an 8 iron in. McIlroy got up and down from behind the green to birdie, he reached 13 under for the first time all week. Young was falling away, and so was Justin Rose (who actually led by two when he made the turn). The biggest challenger emerged: world no. 1 and two-time Masters Champion Scottie Scheffler, he was surging.
Others moving up the board included Hatton, Henley, Morikawa, Sam Burns, Max Homa and Xander Schauffele, but none made enough of a run to catch McIlroy.
Scheffler posted 11-under 267, providing a bar that McIlroy had to clear – to defend the title.
On the 72nd hole, McIlroy gave us a bit more drama. He drove his ball wayward right, near the 10th fairway. From there, he hooked it over the big tree fronting the scoreboard, reaching the bunker fronting the green, he blasted out and safely two-putted for his bogey, a 1-under par 71 for a one-stroke victory.
“I think if I hadn’t birdied the seventh and eighth holes, that I would have started to have to push a little bit,” said McIlroy about making his move on Sunday. “But I think the birdies on seventh and eighth, Justin bogeying 11 and 12, I feel like … and then me birdieing 12, I never felt like I was out of it. I never felt like I had to press at all.”
With the win, McIlroy bcame only the fourth player in the 90 year history of the Masters to defend his title – joining Nicklaus (65-66), Faldo (89-90), and Woods (01-02). It was Rory’s sixth major championship, tying him with Nick Faldo for 12th place all-time.
