Thirteen months ago, Rory McIlroy wondered if he’d ever win the Masters.
As of Sunday night, he’s now won it twice.
With a final-round one-under 71, McIlroy outlasted a crowded field of contenders to claim the green jacket for the second consecutive year. In doing so, he joins Tiger Woods (2000-2001), Nick Faldo (1989-1990) and Jack Nicklaus (1965-1966) as the only men to win at Augusta National in back-to-back years.
At the halfway point of the tournament, another McIlroy victory seemed all but assured. With a tournament-record six-stroke lead over the field — aided by six birdies in seven holes to close out his second round — there wasn’t a question of if he would win, but rather by how much.
But as Augusta National has shown so many times before, no lead is safe on these legendary grounds. And just 11 holes into his third round, his cushion had vanished. He eventually signed for a one-over 73, and he left the grounds at Augusta in a much different position than when he’d arrived.
“This golf course has a way of, you know — when you’re not quite feeling it, you struggle,” McIlroy said Saturday evening. “I just need to go to the range and try to figure it out a little bit.”
When McIlroy arrived for his final-round tee time, he had company atop the leaderboard. Cameron Young, the newly minted Players champion, stormed up the leaderboard on Moving Day with seven-under 65 that tied him with McIlroy at 11-under heading into the final round. Among the other contenders were world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, five-time PGA Tour winner Sam Burns, and last year’s Masters’ runner-up Justin Rose.
“There’s a lot of guys in with a chance tomorrow,” McIlroy said. “I’m still tied for the best score going into tomorrow, so I can’t forget that, but I do know I’m going to have to be better if I want to have a chance to win.”
Through the early going, it didn’t seem as if McIlroy would have the mettle to join the historic ranks of Woods, Faldo and Nicklaus. With a three-putt double at the 4th, and another sloppy bogey at the 6th, he dropped out of the lead as Young surged ahead. As McIlroy found his footing and made birdie at the 7th, Rose began making noise up ahead, carding three-consecutive birdies to take control of the outright lead.
In the final group, McIlroy continued plodding along — avoiding the disastrous mistakes that plagued him in his maiden Master victory a year ago. And as he made birdies at the 12th and 13th to climb back into the lead, those around him began to crumble.
Rose couldn’t hold onto the lead he’d built early in the day, while Young struggled to get any momentum going throughout the day. Scheffler made a spirited charge with back-to-back late birdies on his way to posting the 11-under clubhouse lead, but despite not making a bogey over the final 36 holes, he just couldn’t catch up to McIlroy.
In the end, the kid from Hollywood, Northern Ireland wouldn’t be denied. When he stepped to the tee box of the 72nd hole, he held a two-stroke lead. A few moments later, he tapped in for bogey, looked to the sky and let out a roar.
What once seemed like an insurmountable mountain to climb has now become an annual occurrence. Once again, Rory McIlroy is a Masters champion.
