McIlroy’s narrow Masters
Rory McIlroy successfully defended his Masters title, winning his second consecutive Green Jacket by a single stroke. ( ). The final round averaged about 14 million viewers and peaked near 20 million, the tournament’s largest final‑round TV audience in 11 years. (nationaltoday.com)
Rory McIlroy won the Masters again on April 12, holding off Scottie Scheffler by one stroke for a second straight Green Jacket at Augusta National. (pgatour.com) The PGA Tour said McIlroy reached 13-under with birdies at the 12th and 13th holes, then survived a bogey at 18 to finish the defense. The win was his 30th PGA Tour title and sixth major championship. (pgatour.com) Yahoo Sports reported that Scheffler finished at 11-under after starting the weekend 12 shots back, leaving McIlroy’s closing bogey one stroke short of forcing a playoff. The same report said McIlroy became the fourth golfer to win back-to-back Masters titles, joining Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods. (sports.yahoo.com) That placed McIlroy in a very short Augusta National line: Woods was the last man to defend a Masters title, in 2002. McIlroy had won his first Masters in 2025, when Yahoo Sports said he completed the career Grand Slam in a playoff against Justin Rose. (sports.yahoo.com) The finish also drew the tournament’s biggest television audience for a Sunday final round in 11 years. Sports Media Watch said CBS averaged just under 14 million viewers, with the audience peaking at 20.05 million in the 6:45 p.m. Eastern Time quarter-hour. (sportsmediawatch.com) Yahoo Sports said the average audience was 13.995 million, up 8% from 2025, and the largest final-round audience since Jordan Spieth’s 2015 win drew 14 million. The outlet also noted that CBS announced the figures on April 14. (sports.yahoo.com) Sports Media Watch added a caution on the ratings comparison: Nielsen changed its measurement approach in late 2025 by combining its panel with smart television and set-top-box data. Even with that caveat, the site said the household rating reached an eight-year high. (sportsmediawatch.com) McIlroy’s defense turned a tournament that looked shaky on Saturday into another Augusta escape on Sunday. By the time he tapped in on 18, the Masters had both a repeat champion and its strongest Sunday television number since 2015. (pgatour.com; sports.yahoo.com)
