McIlroy repeats at Augusta

Rory McIlroy won the Masters again on Sunday, becoming the first player since Tiger Woods to defend the title at Augusta National. (masters.com) McIlroy closed with a 1-under 71 and finished at 12-under 276, one shot ahead of Scottie Scheffler in the 90th Masters Tournament. Justin Rose, Cameron Young, Tyrrell Hatton and Russell Henley tied for third at 10-under. (masters.com) He started the week with rounds of 67 and 65, built a record six-shot lead through 36 holes, then shot 73 on Saturday and had to recover again on Sunday. Golf Channel reported that McIlroy trailed by as many as two strokes in the final round before regaining control around the turn. (golfchannel.com) The key stretch came at Amen Corner, Augusta National’s three-hole run from the 11th through the 13th. McIlroy birdied the par-3 12th after hitting a 9-iron to seven feet, then added another birdie at the 13th to get to 13-under. (masters.com) (pgatour.com) The win gave McIlroy six professional major championships and his 30th victory on the PGA Tour. At Augusta, only Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Woods had previously won back-to-back Masters titles. (masters.com) (pgatour.com) The repeat changed the frame around McIlroy’s late career almost immediately. His 2025 Masters victory ended an 11-year major drought and completed the career Grand Slam; the 2026 win moved him from long-awaited champion to repeat winner at the sport’s most tradition-bound major. (masters.com) He did it against the deepest part of the leaderboard. Scheffler, the world No. 1 and a two-time Masters champion, finished one back after a 68, while Rose made another Augusta run and Young shared the 54-hole lead before fading to a tie for third. (masters.com) (golfchannel.com) McIlroy is 36, from Holywood, Northern Ireland, and was making his 18th Masters start. His parents, Gerry and Rosie, were at Augusta for the win along with his wife, Erica, and their daughter, Poppy, after missing last year’s finish. (nbcsports.com) (masters.com) The tournament also drew its biggest television audience for a final round since 2015. Sports Media Watch reported that CBS averaged just under 14 million viewers on Sunday, up from a year earlier. (sportsmediawatch.com) McIlroy said in the Green Jacket ceremony that he wanted to return and prove “last year wasn’t a fluke.” By Sunday evening at Augusta, he had done that with another green jacket and another one-shot finish. (masters.com)