2026 Masters: Rory McIlroy repeat becomes most-watched final round in 11 years

Sunday’s final round of the 2026 Masters was historic as Rory McIlroy repeated as champion. It was also a big day for CBS.

McIlroy’s one-shot victory over Scottie Scheffler became the most-watched final round since 2015, CBS announced Tuesday. An average of 13.995 million viewers tuned in, which is an 8% increase from last year’s tournament. That includes a peak audience of 20.049 million as McIlroy drained the winning tap-in putt.

The final round of last year’s Masters averaged 12.7 million viewers when McIlroy won his first Green Jacket and, at long last, completed the career Grand Slam. That was a big jump from the 9.6 million viewers who watched Scheffler win the 2024 Masters.

As always, it’s important to note the 2026 Masters is the first since Nielsen introduced its Big Data + Panel metric. That has played a role in sports viewership increases since its debut in September 2025. However, the increase for Sunday’s round likely exceeds the range for which Big Data is the lone factor.

McIlroy took a six-shot lead into Day 3 of The Masters, which was the largest 54-hole lead in tournament history. However, the rest of the field made a surge on Saturday while McIlroy shot 1-over-par, putting him in a tie with Cameron Young for first place in the field at 11-under. Sam Burns was in third at 10-under, followed by Shane Lowry at 9-under.

Despite some ups and downs on Sunday, McIlroy finished 1-under and just beat out a surging Scheffler to repeat as Masters champion once again. He’s the first player to repeat as winner since 2002 when Tiger Woods went back-to-back and just the fourth in the 91-year history of the event to do so.

Of course, McIlroy had to wait 17 years to win his first Masters title and join five other career Grand Slam winners. That’s why he couldn’t help but laugh at going back-to-back after such a long road to his first championship last year.

“I just can’t believe I waited 17 years to get one green jacket, and I get two in a row,” McIlroy said, via Golf Channel. “It’s just sort of the way – I don’t know. 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.”