McIlroy wins Masters

Rory McIlroy won the Masters again on Sunday, becoming the first back-to-back champion at Augusta National since Tiger Woods. (espn.com) McIlroy closed with a 1-under 71 and finished at 12-under 276, one shot clear after bogeying the 18th hole. ESPN reported he had lost part of a six-shot edge in the third round before regaining control on the back nine. (espn.com) The final round turned into a three-way chase with Cameron Young, Justin Rose and Scottie Scheffler all pressuring him at different points, according to The Athletic’s live coverage. Golf Channel’s final leaderboard showed Young second at 11-under, Rose third at 10-under and Scheffler tied for fourth at 9-under. (nytimes.com) (golfchannel.com) The win gave McIlroy his second green jacket in two years after he won the 2025 Masters in a playoff against Justin Rose to complete the career Grand Slam. That made Sunday less about ending a drought and more about whether he could hold the title he had finally claimed. (espn.com 1) (espn.com 2) Only three men had won consecutive Masters before this week: Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Woods. Golfweek said McIlroy became the fourth to do it. (golfweek.usatoday.com) His scorecard showed how narrow the margin was. ESPN’s hole-by-hole card listed a birdie at the par-3 12th, another at the par-5 13th, and a closing bogey at 18 that left him at 71 for the day. (espn.com) McIlroy is 36 and turned professional in 2007, and ESPN’s tournament page credited him with 24 birdies over four rounds at Augusta this week. He opened with 67, shot 65 on Friday, slipped to 73 on Saturday and steadied with 71 on Sunday. (espn.com) A year after finally getting the jacket he had chased for more than a decade, McIlroy left Augusta with another one — and with Woods’ 2001-02 repeat no longer standing alone as the tournament’s last successful title defense. (espn.com 1) (espn.com 2)