What Rory McIlroy became the first ever Masters winner to do during the 2026 tournament

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It is no secret that Rory McIlroy joined an incredibly exclusive club by becoming only the fourth player to win The Masters in back-to-back years on Sunday.

McIlroy did not always make it easy on himself, but he was able to join Jack Nicklaus, Sir Nick Faldo, and Tiger Woods by retaining his title at Augusta National.

The 36-year-old finished one shot clear of Scottie Scheffler. However, there was nothing like the fireworks there had been 12 months earlier when McIlroy just about stumbled across the line.

Nevertheless, he could have still made his second victory a lot more comfortable.

Rory McIlroy makes Masters history with his second win at Augusta National

McIlroy had a record six-shot lead at the halfway stage at The Masters. It appeared that he had indeed been freed up by finally getting across the line and completing the Career Grand Slam the previous year.

However, that lead evaporated heading into the final round, with Cameron Young joining McIlroy on 11 under par.

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A 71 on Sunday was enough to get the job done for McIlroy. With that, Justin Ray has revealed on X what the Northern Irishman became the first ever Masters champion to do.

He posted: ‘Another wild ride: Rory is the first Masters champion in history to lose strokes to the field over the last 36 holes.‘

Where Rory McIlroy lost strokes to the field over the weekend at Augusta National

Incredibly, McIlroy lost 3.97 shots with his approach play on Saturday at The Masters, according to Data Golf. Of the players who made the cut, only Keegan Bradley performed worse in that particular category during the third round.

Meanwhile, McIlroy’s biggest issues on Sunday came with the putter in his hands. He lost 1.35 strokes to the field on the greens during the last round.

Ultimately, McIlroy was not able to relax heading up the 72nd hole like he would have obviously hoped to. His shocking drive on the 18th left him with plenty of work to do to ensure that he did not end up in a playoff with Scheffler.

But this week seemed to provide much more of a glimpse of what everyone can expect from McIlroy in the majors to come.

He was flawed, but he made sure that he did enough to get across the line and further cement his legacy as one of the greatest of all-time.