McIlroy wins again

Rory McIlroy won the Masters again on April 12, holding off Scottie Scheffler by one shot for a second straight green jacket at Augusta National. (golfweek.usatoday.com) McIlroy closed with a 1-under 71 and finished at 12-under for the week. Golfweek and Yahoo Sports both reported that the victory made him the fourth player to win the Masters in consecutive years. (golfweek.usatoday.com) (sports.yahoo.com) Scheffler finished second after weekend rounds of 65 and 68, and CBS News reported that he became the first player since 1942 to play the weekend at Augusta without a bogey. Cameron Young and Justin Rose were also in the Sunday chase as McIlroy’s lead tightened. (cbsnews.com) (nytimes.com) The repeat changed the way McIlroy is discussed at Augusta because his first Masters title in 2025 had ended a long run of near-misses there. Yahoo Sports said he joined Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods as the only men to win back to back at the tournament. (sports.yahoo.com) The finish also drew one of the tournament’s biggest television audiences in years. Yahoo Sports, citing CBS Sports, said Sunday’s final round averaged 13.995 million viewers, the largest Masters final-round audience since 2015. (sports.yahoo.com) Sports Media Watch reported that the CBS broadcast averaged a 7.0 rating and just under 14 million viewers, the highest-rated final round since 2018 and the most-watched since Jordan Spieth’s 2015 win drew 14.0 million. Front Office Sports reported that the 2026 audience was up 8% from 12.71 million in 2025. (sportsmediawatch.com) (frontofficesports.com) The tournament itself gave viewers late swings. Yahoo Sports reported that McIlroy had blown a six-shot lead by the midway point of the week before recovering on Sunday, and Golf Channel said he took control on the second nine after overtaking Rose. (sports.yahoo.com) (golfchannel.com) McIlroy earned $4.5 million from the Masters purse for the win, according to Yahoo Sports. CBS Sports called him the first back-to-back Masters winner since Woods in 2002. (sports.yahoo.com) (cbssports.com) By Sunday evening, Augusta had produced the result the Masters had not seen in 24 years: McIlroy in another green jacket, with Scheffler one shot back and millions still watching to the end. (cbssports.com) (sports.yahoo.com)