Rory McIlroy admitted it would have been a “bitter pill to swallow” not to turn a record-breaking halfway lead at The Masters into a successful title defence at Augusta National.
McIlroy became just the fourth player to win back-to-back Masters, joining Jack Nicklaus, Sir Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods, claiming a one-shot victory over Scottie Scheffler. The world No 2 built a six-shot 36-hole lead — the largest in Masters history — but briefly fell two behind playing partner Cameron Young after dropping three shots in a two-hole stretch early in the final round.
He responded by making four birdies over the remainder of the round; a final-hole bogey was enough to secure his sixth major. “I thought it was so difficult to win last year because of trying to win The Masters and the Grand Slam, then this year I realised it’s just really difficult to win The Masters,” McIlroy said. “I tried to convince myself it was both. Yeah, just incredible. I obviously did the bulk of my work on Thursday and Friday… I just had to hang in there. Yeah, just absolutely delighted to be able to get it done. Having a six-shot lead going into the weekend, it would have been a bitter pill to swallow if I wasn’t able to get myself over the finish line.”
McIlroy began the final round tied for the lead but lost ground after a birdie at three was followed by a three-putt double-bogey at the par-three fourth and another dropped shot at the fifth. He steadied the round with gains from six and back-to-back birdies from the 12th, moving three ahead with five to play, and closed with a one-under 71 to hold off Scheffler’s charge.
“I don’t make it easy! I used to make it easy back in my early 20s when I was winning these things by eight shots,” he said. “No, it’s just hard. It’s hard to win golf tournaments, especially around here… I certainly didn’t think I was home and dry after Friday night, and I knew I still needed work to do. But I still thought I would need to shoot under-par to get the job done, but thankfully I did enough.”
McIlroy completed the third leg of the Grand Slam in 2014 and had 10 unsuccessful attempts at Augusta after that. He now claims the Green Jacket in his 17th and 18th appearances at Augusta National. “I just can’t believe I waited 17 years to get one Green Jacket and I get two in a row,” he said in the Butler Cabin. “I think all my perseverance at this golf tournament over the years has really started to pay off.”
What’s next: the PGA Tour moves to Hilton Head Island for the RBC Heritage. The next men’s major is the PGA Championship from May 14-17 at Aronimink Golf Club in Pennsylvania.