Rory McIlroy is the Masters champion again, this time without falling to his knees on the 18th green and sobbing over finally achieving his lifelong dream. That didn’t make Sunday at Augusta National any easier.
McIlroy coughed up a six-shot lead in the third round and fell two shots behind during an electric final day as Cameron Young and Justin Rose surged. He answered with two big birdies around Amen Corner to join elite company: with another green jacket, McIlroy became one of only four players to win the Masters in back-to-back years, joining Tiger Woods, Nick Faldo and Jack Nicklaus.
“I thought it was so difficult to win last year because of trying to win the Masters and the Grand Slam, and then this year I realized it’s just really difficult to win the Masters,” McIlroy said after holding on for a one-shot victory over Scottie Scheffler. “Just incredible.”
He kept everyone on edge until the end. His wedge barely cleared the false front of the par-5 15th. His putt from behind the 16th green wheeled down the slope to within inches to save par. He chipped in to save par on the 17th. Leading by two, his tee shot on 18 found a spot closer to the 10th fairway; he hit an 8-iron over trees into a bunker, blasted out to 12 feet, and took two putts for bogey and a 1-under 71. He raised both arms in celebration after sealing the win.
“My parting message last year was I can’t wait to come back and put the jacket on myself,” McIlroy said at the trophy presentation. “I wasn’t quite correct.” For the first time since Woods’ consecutive wins in 2001-02, Augusta National’s chairman — Fred Ridley for McIlroy — did the honors. “It still fits,” McIlroy said.
McIlroy now has six major titles, tied with Nick Faldo, Lee Trevino and Phil Mickelson. He seized control with a bold shot over Rae’s Creek to 7 feet for birdie on the par-3 12th, then ripped a 350-yard drive on the par-5 13th to set up another birdie and open a three-shot lead. He finished at 12-under 276.
President Donald Trump congratulated McIlroy on social media, calling him “more and more a LEGEND!” McIlroy’s next likely start is the Cadillac Championship in two weeks at Trump Doral outside Miami.
It was heartbreak for Rose and frustration for others who had a chance. Rose, 45, briefly led after an improbable birdie out of the trees to a foot on the seventh and a streak of three straight birdies, but bogeys around Amen Corner and a missed birdie chance on the 13th left him short. “I was right in position,” Rose said. “I was playing great, but just momentum shifted for me around the Amen Corner.”
Young lost his two-shot lead earlier after a long three-putt on the par-3 sixth and a bogey when a fairway wedge found a bunker. He closed with nine straight pars and said he had “birdie chances on every hole” that didn’t fall.
Scottie Scheffler, the world’s No. 1, mounted an impressive charge — he was 12 shots back entering the weekend and reached within two shots approaching the turn. He ran off 11 straight pars and produced a bogey-free 65-68 weekend, the first player since 1942 to go bogey-free on the weekend at Augusta. Still, he had to settle for runner-up, his third second-place finish in majors to go with four major titles. “I put up a good fight in order to give myself a chance,” Scheffler said.
McIlroy said he thought back to Tom Watson’s advice during a 2009 practice round at Augusta: wait for the right wind and hit. His three-quarter 9-iron at the 12th drifted more right than he expected but finished closer than anyone all day. “That was a really good golf shot at the right time,” he said. No one has ever won three straight Masters.
