Rory McIlroy became the first player to defend The Masters since Tiger Woods, surviving a dramatic final round at Augusta National to win by one stroke.
McIlroy entered the weekend with a six-shot lead, but that advantage unraveled on Sunday as playing partner Cameron Young and Justin Rose each held the lead at different moments. McIlroy responded with a birdie at the seventh and a run of gains beginning at the 12th that briefly opened a three-shot cushion, only for Rose and Scottie Scheffler to close in and create a tense finish.
After avoiding the opening-hole collapse that cost him last year, McIlroy steadied early when Young birdied the second. A tidy up-and-down at the driveable third was followed by a pulled tee shot at the par-three fourth that led to a three-putt double bogey, dropping him two behind. Both he and Young bogeyed the sixth, tightening an already crowded leaderboard.
Rose — playing two groups ahead — began the day three back and surged with three straight birdies from the sixth to take the solo lead. Young failed to save par at seven and Rose extended his advantage with a 15-foot birdie at nine, while McIlroy and Young shared the par-five eighth.
McIlroy missed a short birdie at nine but was back level when Rose bogeyed the 11th. Around Amen Corner McIlroy seized control: he holed an eight-foot birdie at 12 after Rose misjudged a chip and bogeyed, then two-putted from off the 13th green to move three clear with five holes remaining.
Playing conservatively down the stretch, McIlroy laid up at the 15th and scrambled pars at 16 and 17. A nervy tee shot into a front greenside bunker on 18 left him with a 15-foot putt after a pitch out; a two-putt bogey was enough to clinch the title. He carded a one-under 71 to finish 12 under par, one stroke ahead of Scheffler.
Scheffler shot a bogey-free 68 to finish runner-up after opening the weekend 12 shots back. Tyrrell Hatton’s brilliant closing 66 left him tied for third with Rose, Young and Russell Henley. Young’s final-round 73 left him short of becoming the third straight player to win The Players and The Masters. Shane Lowry, who began the day two back, slumped to an 80 and tied for 30th.
McIlroy, 36, joins Jack Nicklaus, Sir Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods as consecutive Masters champions and becomes the 15th man in history to win six or more majors. Reflecting on the victory he said, “I just 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.”
The PGA Tour now heads to Hilton Head Island for the RBC Heritage, where Justin Thomas defends his title, and the next major is the PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club from May 14-17.