Rory McIlroy made more major history with a successful title defence at The Masters, closing out another roller-coaster Sunday at Augusta National. He had held the largest 36-hole lead in tournament history but slipped into a share of the lead heading into the final day, then recovered after falling two behind to secure victory.
The world No 2 trailed playing partner Cameron Young and Justin Rose at various points during the final round, where McIlroy posted back-to-back birdies from the seventh to get back on track. He added further birdies around Amen Corner to move three ahead with five to play, and closed out an impressive win despite bogeying his 72nd hole for a second successive year.
Victory matched Sir Nick Faldo’s tally of six major titles for McIlroy and made him just the fourth player to win back-to-back Masters, joining Jack Nicklaus, Faldo and Tiger Woods.
Hole one
Young opened with a two-putt par after finding the fairway bunker. McIlroy hit two solid shots into the green but missed a 10-foot birdie, settling for par. Burns birdied to make it a three-way tie early.
Score: -11 Young, McIlroy, Burns
Hole two
McIlroy laid up from a fairway bunker then hit a wedge to about 10 feet but failed to convert. Young holed his pitch for birdie to move clear.
Score: -12 Young, -11 McIlroy, -9 Burns
Hole three
Young benefited from a bizarre break when his tee shot hit a tree and stayed playable, making par. McIlroy splashed out of sand and made his first birdie of the round.
Score: -12 Young, -12 McIlroy
Hole four
McIlroy pulled left, chipped over a bunker and three-putted for a double-bogey, dropping back. Young two-putted and moved two clear.
Score: -12 Young, -10 McIlroy
Hole five
Both Young and McIlroy made routine pars. Meanwhile Henley and Rose began making moves with birdies to join the chasing pack.
Score: -12 Young, -10 McIlroy, -10 Henley, -10 Rose
Hole six
Young three-putted from distance for a bogey to fall to -11. McIlroy went long, putted from off the green and missed a 12-footer to save par, leaving him further back.
Score: -11 Young, -10 Henley, -10 Rose, -9 McIlroy
Hole seven
Young found the front bunker and failed to get up-and-down for a second straight bogey, losing his share of the lead. McIlroy hit a solid iron and sank an eight-foot birdie to close the gap.
Score: -11 Rose (8), -10 McIlroy, -10 Young
Hole eight
McIlroy reached the par-five green in two and two-putted for birdie from 25 feet to move to -11. Young also birdied to join him, while Rose birdied the ninth to lead again.
Score: -12 Rose (9), -11 Young, -11 McIlroy
Hole nine
Young pitched out of the pines after a wild drive and made a smart two-putt to save bogey. McIlroy missed a six-foot birdie chance, failing to capitalise on his approach.
Score: -12 Rose (10), -11 McIlroy, -10 Young, -10 Hatton
Hole 10
McIlroy two-putted for par to start the back nine and reclaimed a share of the lead as Rose failed to get up-and-down at 11. Henley remained close.
Score: -11 Rose (11), -11 McIlroy, -10 Young, -10 Henley, -10 Hatton
Hole 11
Rose misjudged a pitch and took bogey at 12, while McIlroy two-putted from eight feet at 11 for par to reclaim the solo lead. Young two-putted for par to stay in contention.
Score: -11 McIlroy, -10 Young, -10 Henley, -10 Hatton
Hole 12
McIlroy hit a brilliant tee shot to within eight feet on the par-three and holed it for birdie, doubling his lead when Young missed his birdie try from slightly further away.
Score: -12 McIlroy, -10 Young, -10 Rose, -10 Henley, -10 Hatton
Hole 13
A downhill two-putt from off the green for birdie extended McIlroy’s advantage to three, as he converted from 10 feet to reach -13 while Young missed from the same distance.
Score: -13 McIlroy, -10 Young, -10 Rose, -10 Henley, -10 Hatton
Hole 14
McIlroy calmly parred the 14th. Scheffler and Rose picked up shots nearby, but McIlroy’s lead held.
Scores: -13 McIlroy, -11 Scheffler, -11 Rose, -10 Young
Hole 15
McIlroy was blocked out by a tree and had to lay up; his wedge just cleared the water and he two-putted for par. Young couldn’t get up-and-down and fell three back.
Scores: -13 McIlroy, -11 Scheffler, -11 Rose, -10 Young
Hole 16
A long tee shot left McIlroy a tricky up-and-down from the back of the green, but he judged the break to save par. Young’s birdie attempt rimmed out.
Scores: -13 McIlroy, -11 Scheffler, -10 Rose, -10 Young
Hole 17
McIlroy’s approach bounced off the green; he two-putted from off the surface to keep a two-shot buffer heading to 18.
Scores: -13 McIlroy, -11 Scheffler, -10 Young
Hole 18
Drama briefly loomed when McIlroy found trees off the tee and then a greenside bunker with his approach. A smart chip ran 15 feet past; he lagged to within three inches and tapped in to complete victory.
Final scores: -12 McIlroy, -11 Scheffler, -10 Young, Henley, Rose, Hatton
McIlroy’s final-round 71 featured five birdies, a bogey and a double-bogey. Speaking after the win, he said: “I can’t believe I waited 17 years to get one Green Jacket and I get two in a row. 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.”
Comparing this victory to last year, he added: “It felt pretty similar. I made a double early on the first hole last year and I made a double on four this year. I played flawless golf after that. I made four birdies and no bogeys going to the last tee knowing that I had a two-shot lead. It’s nice to have that two-shot cushion instead of the one like I had last year. I looked at the board after I made the bogey on six and I think I went back to nine under at that point. I said ‘okay, if I can get to 14 under, I think I’ve got a really good chance of winning this tournament’. I didn’t quite get there, but 13 under was good enough standing on the 18th tee.”
What’s next: the next men’s major is the PGA Championship from May 14-17 at Aronimink Golf Club in Pennsylvania.