Rory repeats at Augusta

Rory McIlroy won the Masters again on Sunday, April 12, becoming the first player since Tiger Woods to defend the title at Augusta National. (masters.com) McIlroy finished at 12-under-par 276 after rounds of 67, 65, 73 and 71, one shot ahead of Scottie Scheffler at 11 under. Tyrrell Hatton, Russell Henley, Justin Rose and Cameron Young tied for third at 10 under. (masters.com) The final round swung repeatedly. ESPN’s hole-by-hole card shows McIlroy made double bogeys on Nos. 4 and 11, then birdied No. 13 to regain control and played the back nine in 35 for a 1-under 71. (espn.com) McIlroy started the week fast, opening with 67 and 65 to reach 12 under through 36 holes, then shot 73 on Saturday as Cameron Young erased a six-shot deficit and pulled even entering Sunday. (espn.com) (golfchannel.com) That made Sunday a title defense with a narrow margin, not a runaway. PGA Tour coverage said McIlroy had won the 90th Masters by holding off “the world’s best,” and Golf Channel said he became the tournament’s fourth repeat champion. (pgatour.com) (golfchannel.com) CBS Sports said McIlroy was the first back-to-back Masters winner since Woods, whose consecutive victories came in 2001 and 2002. Yahoo Sports and NBC Sports both said McIlroy joined a group of four men to win consecutive green jackets. (cbssports.com) (sports.yahoo.com) (nbcsports.com) The leaderboard shows how little room he had late. Scheffler closed with a 68 to finish one behind, while Hatton’s 66 was the low round among the top finishers and briefly tightened the chase. (masters.com) McIlroy also led after every round, a rarer path at Augusta than the final margin suggests. Golf Channel said he was only the fourth wire-to-wire Masters winner in the last four decades. (golfchannel.com) By sunset at Augusta, the chaos of the weekend had narrowed to one number: McIlroy by one, and a second straight green jacket in his hands. (masters.com)