2026 Masters Tournament: Rory McIlroy becomes fourth golfer with back-to-back green jackets

Rory McIlroy did it again. And this time he didn’t have to sweat so hard down the stretch.

A year ago, McIlroy needed a playoff to win his first green jacket. This year, the fan-favorite Irishman held off a charging Scottie Scheffler with a strong back-nine to become the fourth-ever back-to-back Masters champion with a 12-under par 71 on Sunday to win the 90th Masters Tournament at Augusta National.

“I can’t believe I waited 17 years to get one green jacket, and now I get two in a row,” McIlroy said Sunday on CBS. “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 happy to hang in there and get the job done.”

McIlroy joins elite company with his back-to-back Masters victories, following PGA legends Jack Nicklaus (1965-66), Nick Faldo (1989-90) and Tigers Woods (2001-02) as the only other golfers to win two straight green jackets. The 50-year-old Woods was expected to be in attendance at this year’s Masters but backed out last week following his DUI arrest on March 27 near his home in Jupiter Island, Fla. Woods is instead currently seeking treatment at a rehabilitation clinic in Switzerland.

Back in Augusta, McIlroy’s second-straight green jacket wasn’t exactly a walk-in-the-park. McIlroy built a six-stroke lead coming out Friday’s action with a 7-under 65 to enter the weekend at 12-under. But McIlroy’s advantage collapsed Saturday with a 1-over par 73 after three bogies and a double-bogey to enter Sunday tied for the lead at 11-under with Cameron Young.

A double-bogey on hole No. 4 followed by a bogey on No. 6 briefly took McIlroy out of the lead halfway through the front nine, but a pair of birdies on holes No. 7 and 8 coupled with two more birdies on 12 and 13 allowed the Irishman to retake a two-stroke advantage entering the back stretch.

But after struggling down the back-nine last year to force a playoff, McIlroy parred four of the final five holes to secure the one-stroke victory Sunday afternoon. That included a short chip-in put to bogey No. 18 for his second-career green jacket.

“It felt pretty similar to last year. I made a double early on the first hole last year, and I made a double on (hole No.) 4 this year, and then I played flawless golf after that,” McIlroy said. “I made four birdies and no bogies going into the last tee knowing that I had a two-shot lead. It was nice to have that two shot cushion instead of the one like I had last year.”

Of course, Scheffler — who won the Masters in 2022 and 2024 — didn’t do down without a fight. After a difficult start to the tournament, Scheffler closed out the weekend with a third-round 65 and a final-round 68 to finish in second at 11-under par for the tournament. Scheffler became the first player to go bogey-free over the final two days of the Masters dating back to 1942.

Meanwhile, Justin Rose, who briefly took a one-stroke lead with a 12-under par after the front-nine Sunday, finished tied for third place with Young, Tyrrell Hatton and Russell Henley at 10-under par.