Rory McIlroy closed out a dramatic final round at Augusta National to become only the fourth player to win back-to-back Masters, pulling clear with birdies around Amen Corner and surviving a nervous finish to claim his second straight green jacket.
Three different players held a two-shot lead at various points Sunday, but McIlroy took control with a bold tee shot over Rae’s Creek to about seven feet for birdie at the par-3 12th. He followed with a 350-yard drive down the 13th that set up another birdie, extending his advantage to three.
A couple of late scares came his way — an approach that ran over the 16th green forced him to use the slope to save par, and a wild drive on the 18th ended up nearer the 10th fairway. He recorded a bogey on the last hole but still carded a 1-under 71 and finished at 12-under 276, one stroke ahead of Scottie Scheffler.
Last year’s playoff win over Justin Rose completed McIlroy’s career Grand Slam; with another green jacket he now joins Tiger Woods, Nick Faldo and Jack Nicklaus as repeat Masters champions.
“A few guys made a run, but nothing like Justin last year with that 66,” McIlroy said afterward, noting he played well and that challengers were unable to sustain pressure. “Some good play by me, and fortunately, some guys didn’t come after me this year.”
Justin Rose, who led by two early in the final round, saw that advantage slip away around Amen Corner after two bogeys and a three-putt par. Rose, 45 and trying to become the second-oldest Masters champion after Jack Nicklaus in 1986, had earlier produced an improbable birdie from the trees at the seventh and closed the front nine with three straight birdies, but a wayward approach at the 11th and a missed opportunity at 13 left him short.
“A chance that got away,” Rose said, reflecting on a round in which momentum shifted badly for him in the middle holes.
Cameron Young lost his two-shot lead earlier in the day after a long three-putt on the par-3 sixth and a bogey following a wedge into a bunker; he settled in and closed with nine straight pars. Scheffler, the world No. 1, mounted a late charge after starting the weekend 12 shots back and was two behind at the turn, but could only post pars on the back nine. His 65-68 weekend made him the first player since 1942 to go bogey-free on the weekend at Augusta, yet he finished as runner-up — his third second-place finish in a major.
“I put up a good fight to give myself a chance,” Scheffler said.
For McIlroy, who spent years under pressure chasing the Masters, the victory was pure elation. Having completed his career Grand Slam last year, he now stands as a two-time champion whose fondness for Augusta has only grown. As he tapped in the final putt, the immediate joy was clear — and the tantalizing thought remained that no one has ever won three straight Masters.