For the sixth time, Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy is a major champion. On Sunday at Augusta National, McIlroy won his second green jacket as he successfully defended his Masters title from 2025.
McIlroy’s winning score of the first major of 2026 was -12. American Scottie Scheffler was alone in second place at -11. Americans Russell Henley and Cameron Young, and England’s Tyrrell Hatton and Justin Rose were tied for third place at -10, and Americans Sam Burns and Collin Morikawa were tied for seventh place at -9. In addition to McIlroy, Burns, Young and Rose also had the fourth round lead at the 2026 Masters.
What made McIlroy’s win at the 2026 Masters noteworthy is the fact he was a wire-to-wire winner. He was leading or co-leading after every round. McIlroy was at -5 and tied with Burns after round one, leading at -12 after round two, and tied with Young at -11 after round three.
In the third round, McIlroy had four birdies, three bogeys and one double bogey in shooting a score of one-over-par. He birdied the third, 10th, 14th and 15th holes, bogeyed the first, 12th and 17th holes, and double bogeyed the 11th hole. In the fourth round, McIlroy had five birdies, two bogeys and one double bogey in posting a score of one-under-par. He birdied the third, seventh, eighth, 12th, and 13th holes, bogeyed the sixth and 18th holes, and double bogeyed the fourth hole.
It should be noted that McIlroy has won back-to-back Masters despite having six double bogeys. This year he had two double bogeys, and last year he had four double bogeys. A year ago, McIlroy double bogeyed the 15th and 17th holes in round one, and the first and 13th holes in round four.
This is the fourth time in Masters history that a player won the green jacket in back-to-back years. The other three players to accomplish the feat were Jack Nicklaus of Columbus, Ohio (1965 and 1966), Nick Faldo of Welwyn Garden City, England (1989 and 1990), and Tiger Woods of Cypress, California (2001 and 2002). McIlroy’s four other majors came at the 2011 United States Open, the 2012 and 2014 PGA Championship and the 2014 British Open.
