Masters champion Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland celebrates after winning the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club on Sunday, April 12, 2026. (Photo by Chris Turvey/Augusta National/Getty Images)
Augusta National/Getty Images
After stalling out during Saturday’s round, Rory McIlroy found himself atop the leaderboard of golf’s top players heading into the back nine at Augusta on Sunday afternoon.
“I waited 17 years to get a green jacket and now I’m getting two in a row,” McIlroy said. “I feel like my perseverance is finally starting to pay off in this golf tournament.”
That day will inevitably be McIlroy’s.
CBS commentator Jim Nantz said, “He’s in the same position he was in last year, he fell to the ground. He’s already getting emotional about it.” “Rory is a rare repeat winner at Augusta.”
Scotty Scheffler appeared to be emerging from the ashes after a poor performance on Friday, shooting two-over par and at the time was 12 strokes behind McIlroy’s lead. The roles were reversed on Saturday, as McIlroy was one of the few players to shoot over par, closing out the field.
Cameron Smith took the lead on Saturday with a 7-under-par 65 and, by the end of the day, was tied with McIlroy on the leaderboard. Cameron Young birdied the par-5 second hole on Sunday and McIlroy responded with a birdie of his own on the next hole.
Disaster struck McIlroy on the fourth. A drawn tee shot on the 240-yard par three landed to the left of the greenside bunker. His chip fell, sliding forward about three feet. What happened next was either a mental lapse or the cruel hand of the Augusta deity. McIlroy holed his first putt through the break, holed his second, and three-putted from within four feet of his third. The double bogey left him two strokes behind Young at 12-under.
Justin Rose took the lead on the leaderboard in turn two. Consecutive birdies on holes 7, 8, and 9 gave him a two-shot lead over Young and Russell Henley. As juggernauts McIlroy and Young pounced, Rose displayed elite touch – playing to within a few feet from pine straw on seven, executing a spectacular pitch on the par-5 eighth, and draining a 12-foot birdie on nine.
Rose. McIlroy. Youth. Henley. Scheffler. Hatton.
“Overall, I fought pretty well over the weekend,” Scheffler said. “I hit some really good shots.”
The leaderboard changed like a stock ticker. Rose led, McIlroy answered, Rose faded, Young ascended. Henley rose, then fell. Hatton posted 10-under. Scheffler spun his wheels with 11 straight pars and finally achieved success with birdies on 15 and 16.
Birdie on 15 looked unlikely as Scheffler missed wide right and clipped the lower limbs of an overhanging pine with his punch shot. His approach from 180 yards was spectacular – threading under a branch before rising high enough to land softly on the solid green.
“We had four different players leading the way at one time,” Nantz said. “And Rory was three shots behind at one point.”
AUGUSTA, GEORGIA – APRIL 12: Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland retrieves his ball after birdie on the 12th hole during the final round of the 2026 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 12, 2026 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)
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Rose continuously slipped with bogey. Scheffler stopped. The youth hovered. However, McIlroy seized control. He hit his tee shot on the par-3 12th and converted for birdie to take a two-shot lead. A huge drive on 13 set up another birdie, cutting the lead to three.
“I think the tee shot on 12 and the tee shot on 13 gave me a chance to get to the green in two,” McIlroy said.
Rory McIlroy. Scotty Scheffler. Justin Rose.
After fouling it out at 17, Scheffler’s birdie putt slipped just short as patrons held their breath. Three straight birdies, inches away, ended his hopes of another green jacket.
Rose, who was still two years behind, made a big break when her errant drive on 17 hit a pine and came back into the fairway. McIlroy, meanwhile, gave the field a ray of hope with a routine par on the reachable par-5 15th.
Sliced Right – McIlroy’s tee shot on the final hole went wide of the line, but gave him a clean look. All that was left was a huge hook reminiscent of his decisive shot of 2025. Instead, the ball settled in the front-left greenside bunker.
McIlroy calmly got up and down, two-putted from 20 feet to finish at 12-under par – one stroke ahead of Scheffler.
The crowds went wild – on the hallowed grounds of Augusta and back home at Holywood Golf Club.
Rory McIlroy became the fourth player to win consecutive Masters titles, joining Nick Faldo who won six consecutive Masters Championships.
