McIlroy wins back‑to‑back

Rory McIlroy left Augusta National with a second straight green jacket, becoming the first man since Tiger Woods to win the Masters in consecutive years. (nbcsports.com, espn.com) McIlroy won the 90th Masters on Sunday, April 12, by one stroke over Scottie Scheffler after entering the final round tied for the lead with Cameron Young at 11-under par. Justin Rose, Tyrrell Hatton, Cameron Young and Russell Henley finished tied for third, two shots back. (skysports.com, masters.com) The victory gave McIlroy his sixth major championship, according to NBC Sports, and put him alongside Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Woods as the only back-to-back Masters winners. ESPN said he was the first player to repeat at Augusta National since Woods in 2001 and 2002. (nbcsports.com, espn.com) Augusta National also raised the tournament purse to $22.5 million, up from $21 million in 2025, and the winner’s share to $4.5 million. The PGA Tour said the total was the largest payout among men’s golf major championships. (pgatour.com, sports.yahoo.com) That money reached deep into the field. CBS Sports reported that each of the top four finishers earned more than $1 million, and every player in the top 12 cleared at least $517,500. (cbssports.com, golfweek.usatoday.com) The repeat matters in part because McIlroy’s first Masters win in 2025 completed the career Grand Slam, ending more than a decade of pressure around Augusta. One year later, he returned as defending champion and held off a Sunday challenge from the world’s top contenders. (nbcsports.com, usatoday.com) McIlroy was not the only story at the top of the board. Cameron Young shared the 54-hole lead before fading out of the win, while Scheffler played his way into second and Rose finished in the group tied for third. (masters.com, skysports.com) At Augusta, the green jacket still carries the old prestige, but the checks are getting bigger. McIlroy now has both again, for the second April in a row. (sports.yahoo.com, nbcsports.com)