The green jacket has proven to be a perfect fit for Rory McIlroy, so much so that it will remain in his wardrobe for another year. On another of those rollercoaster days which have formed such a part of his DNA, the Northern Irishman lost control of his own destiny and then brilliantly reclaimed it to put on a masterclass around Amen Corner to find deliverance. Again!
Where it took a playoff win a year ago, McIlroy’s mastery – after a shaky start – saw him stand clear and alone atop the leaderboard in this 90th edition of the Masters, after a final round 71 for a total of 12-under-par 276 gave him a one-stroke winning margin over Scottie Scheffler.
McIlroy doesn’t do easy. The colour-friendly green Whoop device on his right wrist clocked every up and down of a heartbeat which, when it mattered most in the heat of battle, remained calm and collected, so that he became the first player since Tiger Woods in 2002 to successfully retain the title, joining an elite group of four men numbering Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Nick Faldo – and now McIlroy.
But that’s the company that McIlroy’s standout career has merited.
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And, on a beautifully sunny day with only the slightest of breezes, McIlroy’s walk to the first tee, by the old Oak tree to the putting green and then on to the box where the starter’s message of “Fore, now driving”, got his round under way with the promise of greatness hanging in the air.
Yet, the demons of old resurfaced. On the Par 3 fourth, a wild tee shot was so far awry that it finished left of the bunker. His pitch over the trap ran to 10 feet but he three-putted for a double-bogey six and a bogey on the sixth had him two behind his playing partner Cameron Young.
Others were on fire too, not least Justin Rose – the vanquished from that sudden death of 2025 – who went on a run of three straight birdies from the seventh to move to 12-under, while Tyrrell Hatton and Collin Morikawa found hot streaks of their own.
And most menacingly of all world number one Scheffler caught fire with birdies on the 15th and 16th so that the roars came back to McIlroy of a surge that ultimately came up just short. Scheffler’s bogey-free 68 for 11-under-par 277 left the champion of 2022 and 2024 alone in second.
When it mattered, McIlroy took his destiny in his own hands. The back-to-back birdies on the seventh and eighth – where, on that Par 5, he executed a beautiful 6-iron from 229 yards to find the green and then two-putt – saw him move down the 10th and onwards to Amen Corner with a pep in his stride.
The iconic Par 3 12th – a 9-iron to eight feet – delivered a birdie and a wonderful drive on the 13th set up another birdie to move into a three-stroke lead.
Nervy moments after that? Well, a poor pushed drive on the 15th and a lay-up and then an approach that had his heart in his mouth, as the ball just cleared the water, for one. A safe par, though. And then a tee-shot over the back of the Par 3 16th, from where – with nerves of steel and wonderful artistry – he chipped and expertly used the slope so that the ball finished tap-in distance for par.
A good up and down par save on the 17th, and McIlroy allowed himself to gently touch the offered hands on the walkway to the 18th tee. Driver or 3-wood? Caddie Harry Diamond handed him the driver. But McIlroy’s aggression raised further raised heartbeats, as his tee shot was pushed into the trees and on to pine needles with the only escape route being to play a high hook.
McIlroy’s approach found the front greenside bunker. Thankfully, his Titleist RORS marked ball didn’t plug, and he splashed out to 15 feet. The old adage of taking two putts if just two were needed was applied, as McIlroy two-putted for a finishing bogey five to reclaim the title.
McIlroy’s back-to-back wins in the Masters have elevated the Northern Irishman up a further notch to the level of greatness among European players, joining Seve Ballesteros as a two-time winner of the Masters and joining Nick Faldo as a six-time Major champion, the most of the modern era.
McIlroy, 36, has a decade – or perhaps even more – to further his playing legacy but his second Masters win, only the fourth player to win in consecutive years (joining Faldo, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods) in a special quartet, has earned him a place among the greats.
“I felt like the [career] Grand Slam [last year] was the destination, and I realised it wasn’t. I’m on this journey to ... I don’t know, I just won my sixth major, and I feel like I’m in a really good spot with my game and my body.
“I don’t want to put a number on it, but I feel like this win is just, I don’t want to say a stop on the journey, it’s just a part of the journey. I still have things I want to achieve, but I still want to enjoy it as well.
“I’ve waited so long to win the Masters, and all of a sudden I win two in a row. So I still want to enjoy it. I’ve got a couple of weeks off before I go back to play competitive golf, but I don’t think I’ll go through that lull of motivation or the sort of things that I was feeling last year post winning this tournament.”
Shane Lowry’s grand hopes were extinguished early. A bogey on the first – where someone audibly coughed on his chip shot – set the tone for a miserable closing round, which included no fewer than three double-bogeys, on the fifth, 11th and 16th, where he found water left off the tee. Lowry, who started the final round in solo fourth two shots adrift of McIlroy and Young, cut a sorry figure on departing the 18th, after a closing 80 for 287 in tied-30th.
