McIlroy underlines greatness by defending Masters title

The Masters, final leaderboard

-12 R McIlroy (NI); -11 S Scheffler (US); -10 T Hatton (Eng), R Henley US, J Rose (Eng), C Young (US)

Selected: -9 C Morikawa (US); -8 X Schauffele (US); -5 J Spieth (US); -4 M Fitzpatrick (Eng); -3 L Aberg (Swe)

Full leaderboard

Rory McIlroy underlined why he is one of the game's greats by holding off the world's best to become only the fourth man to win successive Masters titles.

McIlroy's belief that finally landing the Green Jacket last year would pave the way for more major victories proved prophetic.

Twelve months ago, the 36-year-old from Northern Ireland ended an 11-year wait to complete the career Grand Slam by winning at Augusta National, a victory which he felt would allow him to play with more freedom when he returned in the future.

That is exactly what he has been able to do - at the first opportunity.

McIlroy shot a final-day 71 to finish on 12 under, one stroke clear of world number one Scottie Scheffler, on another Masters Sunday for the ages.

"I can't believe I waited 17 years to get one Green Jacket and now I get two in a row," said McIlroy, who clinched his sixth major to draw level with England's Sir Nick Faldo.

"All my perseverance at this golf course over the years has started to pay off."

Rory McIlroy is the 15th man in history to win at least six major titles [Getty Images]

McIlroy once again held off English veteran Justin Rose - whose own Augusta dream was dashed again by his European Ryder Cup team-mate.

Rose, 45, was aiming to become the oldest first-time Masters champion and looked to be creating his own fairytale story when he moved into a one-shot lead midway through his final round.

He was beaten by McIlroy in a play-off last year, but put himself in position to avenge that defeat as McIlroy's stone-cold putter loosened his grip on the tournament.

But, with a stacked leaderboard jostling for position behind them, there was a role reversal from the pair's thrilling battle last year.

Then, McIlroy faltered under the weight of history as a free-swinging Rose blitzed the back nine to force the extra hole.

Now, Rose felt the pressure - dropping shots at Amen Corner's 11th and 12th holes - as McIlroy proved he truly was unburdened.

There had been doubts. McIlroy exuded serenity on the first two days as he surged into a record six-shot lead at the halfway stage, even though he was still far from his best off the tee.

The same issue caught up with him in Saturday's third round when he could not take advantage of scoreable conditions and allowed the field to close the gap.

Like all great players, McIlroy ironed out his swing kinks and sacrificed distance with the driver for a greater accuracy which underpinned a gutsy one-under 71 in Sunday's finale.

The ability to stay patient and solve the problems which he faced was the key as McIlroy joined Jack Nicklaus, Faldo and Tiger Woods as back-to-back winners.

Would McIlroy have been able to show the same resilience if he had not already claimed the Green Jacket? He did not think so.

Throughout the past year McIlroy has insisted how he was returning as a different player and a different man.

Over the past four days he has shown it was truly transformative.

"It was a tough weekend but I'm so happy to hang in there and get the job done," McIlroy said.

"I wanted to come back and prove last year wasn't a fluke."

Rose the Masters nearly man again

Rose looked like a man on a mission on the front nine, but faltering on the par-four 11th - pushing his second shot right and then three-putting - stalled his momentum.

A duffed chip from the sticky fringe at the back of the green on the iconic par-three 12th was followed by another three-putt from an eagle opportunity on the scoreable par-five 13th.

Unable to recover, a frustrated Rose finished on 10 under and was denied the fourth Masters runners-up finish of his career.

"It is another little stinger," said 2016 Olympic champion Rose, whose sole major win came at the 2013 US Open.

"I was by no means free and clear, and nowhere close to having the job done, but I was right in position."

Instead it was two-time champion Scheffler who finished as McIlroy's nearest challenger after carving his own piece of history.

The 29-year-old American, who won in 2022 and 2024, became the first player since 1942 to card a bogey-free weekend on his way to a fourth successive top-10 finish.

Ultimately he paid the price for making a slow start, which has been a common theme for him in recent months.

"I knew I was going to have to do something special if I wanted to catch [McIlroy] or [Young]. I was close but it was just a few shots here or there," said Scheffler.

Rose was joined in joint third by England's Tyrrell Hatton, plus American pair Russell Henley and Cameron Young.

Hatton's final-day 66 concluded a weekend where he seems to have made peace with the Masters.

The 34-year-old's relationship with Augusta National had been a volatile one, having regularly squabbled with the course's unrelenting undulations and even going as far as labelling it "unfair" in 2022.

"This is my 10th Masters, so I've been fortunate to be here a lot and my results the last three years have definitely improved," Hatton said.