Rory McIlroy is a two-time Masters champion.
McIlroy closed with a final-round 71 at Augusta National on Sunday, defending his title at 12-under 276 to win the 90th Masters Tournament. He finished one shot ahead of Scottie Scheffler. It is his sixth major championship overall.
McIlroy built the largest 36-hole lead in Masters history through the first two rounds, then shot 1-over 73 on Saturday to fall into a share of the lead with Cameron Young entering the final round.
Sunday was a crowded leaderboard throughout. Young took the outright lead on the front nine before Rose surged to 12-under for the tournament through nine holes, taking a two-shot lead into the back nine. McIlroy trailed by as many as three shots during the round.
Back-to-back birdies on Nos. 7 and 8 moved McIlroy back into contention. Rose then made back-to-back bogeys on 11 and 12 to fall back. McIlroy birdied the par-3 12th, hitting a three-quarter 9-iron to eight feet and converting the putt, to extend his advantage. He credited advice from Tom Watson for his approach to the hole. “I played a practice round with Tom Watson in 2009, and he said to me on the 12th tee he always waited until he felt where the wind should be and then just hit it,” McIlroy said.
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A two-putt birdie on the par-5 13th pushed him to 13-under and three clear of the field. He bogeyed the 72nd hole for the second straight year but finished one shot clear of Scheffler.
Young and Rose tied for third at 10-under. Tyrrell Hatton, who shot 66 on Sunday, finished as the clubhouse leader at 10-under before being overtaken. Collin Morikawa birdied five consecutive holes late in his round to finish at 9-under.
“I just can’t believe I waited 17 years to get one green jacket, and I get two in a row,” McIlroy said, per Golf Channel. “I think all of my perseverance at this golf tournament over the years has really started to pay off. It was a tough weekend. I did the bulk of my work on Thursday and Friday. But just so, so happy to hang in there and get the job done.”
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McIlroy joins Jack Nicklaus (1965-66), Nick Faldo (1989-90), and Tiger Woods (2001-02) as the only players to win back-to-back Masters titles. He also ties Faldo for the most major championships by a European player with six.
The final round averaged 13.995 million viewers on CBS, the most-watched Masters final round since 2015.
