Masters 2026: 5 moments I won't forget from walking a harrowing back nine with Rory McIlroy

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Rory McIlroy raised his arms in the air. And so did I. The defending champion Masters defended reclaimed his green jacket and did it in dramatic fashion on the back nine Sunday. Attending the tournament for the first time in 10 years, I knew I had to get out and watch it and I’m glad I did.

Having walked every hole of the back nine with McIlroy as he posted his one-under 71 for a one-shot victory over Scottie Scheffler, here are five observations about the back-to-back champ

1. How Rory’s walk has changed

When a 21-year-old McIlroy built a four-shot lead after 54 holes at the 2011 Masters, he bounced around Augusta National. Long, curly, dark hair coming out from under his Jumeriah-sponsored cap, his walk was quick, youthful and energetic. Fast forward 15 years and the man and that walk have evolved.

Masters 2026

J.D. Cuban

Weekend rounds at Augusta are slow. As I arrived at the ninth green Sunday, in front of the Augusta National clubhouse, it was 4:35 p.m. Just a few feet to my left, on the 18th green, McIlroy would go on to win the tournament at 6:55 p.m. It took the final group nearly 2 1/2 hours to play the back nine, on perhaps the hottest day in Augusta, Ga.,, this year.

I was struck by just how slow Rory’s walk was. Down to the green on 10, back to the tee on 13, across the bridge on 15, he wasn’t bouncing. He was pacing himself. Literally. He spoke throughout the 2025 Masters about how he and Bob Rotella, a famous golf psychologist, had worked on a mindset of “staying in a bubble”, focusing on himself and controlling what he could control.

A year later, it was more of the same.

On the 13th hole, McIlroy slowed to a stop. Standing in the fairway for about three or four minutes. Not as his ball in the fairway, back near the tee. Just him and Harry Diamond, his caddie, waiting. I was confused. I could see two balls near where I was standing but begin wondering if Cameron Young had hit a provisional ball. I asked a couple of fans if they had seen what happened. They were as confused as I was.

“I don't know what had happened,” McIlroy said after the round, “but Cam was pulled in behind the hedges by a couple of referees to talk about something that may or may not have happened on the course.”

It’s unclear what went on with Young in that moment, but it is clear how Rory handled it.

“I thought, instead of me getting up there and waiting at my ball forever, I'd just hang back until Cam came back out. I don't really like that second shot anyway, so I don't need to be up there looking at it for too long. So I just tried to hang back … you know, just so I could get to the ball and go through my normal routine and not be waiting up there for what I would feel like is forever.”

He paced himself. All day, but especially on the back nine. And was clear to all down at Amen Corner.

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2. How easy it is to watch golf at Augusta National

Sunday the Masters is like Christmas for golf fans. Millions of people around the world make plans to be in position to sit and the drama unfold. The only thing better than watching the final round of the Masters is watching it in person. And I was shocked by how easy that was to do.

I stood behind a group of the famous green Masters chairs by the ninth green. An uninterrupted view as McIlroy narrowly missed his birdie putt, yet pulled a shot ahead of Young as the American made a bogey.

I walked down the right side of the 10th hole and again down 11 to Amen Corner. There aren’t many grandstands and those that are by the greens are pretty small. There’s hills, high points, holes that turn back and twist around and if you know where to walk and what side of the holes to be, you can watch every single shot.

And that’s what I did.

3. The shot that may define 2026 Rory

Masters 2026

J.D. Cuban

As I arrived at Amen Corner, I positioned myself to the right of the 12th tee. With a good view of the 11th green, I watched as McIlroy made a crucial par putt from six feet to remain one shot ahead. He walked onto the 12th tee with with his caddie to a standing applause. Many patrons removed their hats, holding them in the air and cheering as the leader arrived on their stage. Young then followed, to a similar, albeit less exuberant, ovation.

The wind wasn’t strong but it was as strong as it had been all day. The flag on the 11th hole was barely moving but the 12th flag, 155 yards away, was dancing back and forth. Diamond, stood next to Rory, signalled an 11 o’clock wind direction. They had a brief conversation and pulled 9-iron. Then the wind gusted. Rory backed off and Harry stepped forward. Not towards his boss but further down the tee, attempting to get a better feel for what the wind was doing and throwing grass in the air at the end of the tee box. The information was relied to McIlroy and he settled into his routine. Not rushed, but brisk.

We watched as he hit a sawed-off fade with his 9-iron, the same shot he had practiced late on Saturday night on the range. Often you’ll hear a player talk to their ball when it’s in the air, especially on par 3s, but Rory said nothing. Dozens of patrons shouted, nearly everyone of them in admiration as the ball flew towards the bunker, fading ever so slightly towards the right pin position. It landed, both with a thud and a huge cheer from the crowd, and released out to seven feet.

It will be the shot that many will say won him the green jacket. What is undeniable is that it won the closest-to-the-pin contest there on Sunday. No one, none of the other 53 players who teed it up in the final round, hit it closer.

There is no prize for that. But he’ll settle for another green jacket.

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4. The sneeze that could have changed it all

After McIlroy rolled in his putt for birdie on 12, I moved about 100 yards towards the 13th hole, taking a spot just past the trees that line the right side of the fairway. McIlroy’s ball, amazingly having missed that tee shot well right in the opening three rounds, landed just a few feet away, barely on the fairway. He was two shots clear of the field and now in the “go zone” on the par five.

Every hole is lined with fans that place their seats early in the morning with the plan to return to those seats when the leaders come through. I stood probably three rows back from those chairs, always looking for relatively short fans to stand behind. I’m 6-foot-3 and height is an advantage in these situations.

McIlroy arrived at his ball, surveyed the shot with his caddy, and pulled an 8-iron out of his bag. A good swing here and the Northern Irishman would have one arm in the green jacket. Waggle. Look. Waggle. Look. Achoo. The teenage kid in front of me sneezed. McIlroy heard and backed off his shot, resetting with his caddy and going back through his routine.

Luckily, for all involved, McIlroy avoided the same watery fate that bestowed him here 12 months ago. His ball landed on the green and released just over the back.

“I’m so f****** glad he didn’t go in the water” said the kid. His dad appeared to agree.

5. An Irish legend watching a Northern Irish legend’s winning moment

Removed from the drama of Amen Corner, I followed McIlroy and Young through the final few holes, climbing up the hill on the 18th hole to find a spot to see the finish. I settled in left of the green. Now filled with thousands of fans, I was just a few feet from where I watched McIlroy take the lead on the ninth green more thantwo hours earlier. As I tip-toed to 6-foot-5 or so trying to see where the leader had escaped to from his wayward drive, I noticed a well-built, tall man on my left. I recognized him. It was Peter Mahony, an Irish rugby legend who captained his country as well as the British and Irish Lions in 2017. With a Masters shop bag in his right hand, he too was fighting to get a view of history. Just moments earlier, on the 14th hole, I watched tennis legend Rafael Nadal do the same thing. Alongside an Augusta member, dressed in a green jacket, he too was walking with the patrons trying to see McIlroy’s closing stretch.

McIlroy hit his bunker shot out onto the green and it was clear he was going to win. Having not been back to Augusta since 2016, I was desperate to get a view of the winning putt. As McIlroy marked his ball, just inches from the hole, I noticed some of the famous, foldable, green chairs. The same ones I stood behind on the ninth green, left their by fans who were watching the closing holes and returning later to collect them. I took one and pull it alongside Mahony. As I saw the white cap of McIlroy moving in towards his marker, I stood up on the chair. It wasn’t a clean view but I could see the ball and the man.

McIlroy tapped in, raising his arms in the air. And so did I. A back nine and a Sunday I won’t forget.