AUGUSTA, Ga. — From wire-to-wire to a harrowing high-wire act.
That pretty much describes Rory McIlroy’s Masters.
He became the fourth man to win back-to-back green jackets Sunday, surviving some shaky golf and a dramatic surge by some of the best players in the world.
In the end, he made a tap-in putt for victory, threw back his head and screamed to the heavens, then tearfully walked off the green and coaxed his young daughter, Poppy, under the ropes to give him a hug.
Rory McIlroy celebrates on the 18th green as fans cheer after he won the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club on Sunday.
(Hector Vivas / Getty Images)
“I can’t believe I waited 17 years to get one green jacket, and now I get two in a row,” McIlroy said during the green jacket ceremony. “I think all of my perseverance at this golf tournament over the years has really started to pay off.”
It was the sixth major championship for Northern Ireland’s McIlroy, tying him with Nick Faldo for the most by any European golfer in the modern era.
Despite a historic lead heading into the weekend, McIlroy didn’t just fall behind on Sunday but trailed by as many as three shots at times.
“It was a tough weekend,” he said. “I did the bulk of my work on Thursday and Friday. But just so happy to hang in there and get the job done.”
It was a dramatic final day. With Scottie Scheffler, Justin Rose and a host of others on his heels, McIlroy steadied himself and pulled away down the stretch.
But there was drama even on the par-four 18th hole. Needling only a bogey to win, McIlroy hit his tee shot deep into the trees on the right. He hit a high, right-to-left shot out of the pine straw into the front left bunker. Two putts later and a second jacket was his, a one-shot victory over Scheffler.
“I put up a good fight,” Scheffler said, “did a lot of good stuff in order to give myself a chance and ultimately came up a couple shots short.”
A year ago, McIlroy beat Rose in a sudden-death playoff at Augusta to complete a career grand slam.
Rory McIlroy celebrates as crowd roars after he won the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club on Sunday.
(Maddie Meyer / Getty Images)
In winning consecutive Masters — a feat not accomplished since Tiger Woods did it in 2002 — McIlroy joins Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Woods in one of golf’s most exclusive fraternities.
After two rounds it didn’t appear the weekend would be so difficult. McIlroy had built a six-shot lead, the largest 36-hole advantage in Masters history. But he was over par Saturday while everyone else on the leaderboard was shooting in the 60s, and was the only player on the range that evening, hitting balls as the sun went down.
He started Sunday with a sputter, including a double bogey on the par-three fourth and a bogey shortly after.
Fifteen years ago, in an epic unraveling, McIlroy saw a four-shot Sunday lead evaporate with a collapse at Amen Corner — triple bogey, bogey, double bogey on holes 11, 12 and 13.
On Sunday, he played those three holes par, par and birdie, going some distance toward exorcising the demons of 2011.
McIlroy and Cameron Young were the final pairing Sunday, tied at 11 under. Young birdied the second hole but cooled and had bogeys on 6, 7 and 9.
Rose, angling for his first green jacket, had the lead making the turn Sunday but couldn’t hold on and recorded bogeys on 11, 12 and 17. He headed to the clubhouse tied for third, his fifth top-five finish at the Masters.
“If there was anyone deserving of a green jacket it would probably be Rosey …” said Tyrrell Hatton, who finished in a four-way tie for third. “Incredible player and I imagine one day he’ll slip on a green jacket.”
Scheffler, ranked No. 1 in the world, flirted with missing the cut after opening with a 70 and a 74. But he shot bogey-free rounds of 65 and 68 on the weekend, becoming the first player at the Masters since 1942 to play every hole on Saturday and Sunday at par or better.
Russell Henley, playing on his birthday, collected his fifth top-10 finish in his last nine majors.
“I felt like I handled the pressure well, handled the conditions well,” Henley said. “It was tricky out there. Just hit it great. Really thankful for a good finish.”
Collin Morikawa, dealing with a back injury that affected his confidence in his legs, got hot on the second nine and tore off five birdies in a row. He finished at nine under.
“This is going to be one of the best tournaments forever,” Morikawa said. “I’m going to remember this one for many reasons, but more how strong the mind is, to be able to go out and convince yourself that everything is going to be OK.”
The biggest implosion of the day came from Haotong Li, who was seven under after three rounds. He opened Sunday with a bogey, then had three bogeys in a row on 5, 6 and 7. But that wasn’t the worst of it.
Li took a triple-bogey six on No. 12, and then the wheels really came off. He had a 10 — a quintuple bogey — on the 13th, that included a second shot into the bushes, and a third shot that stayed in there, and later a firm putt from the fringe that blew past the hole and into the water. It was a nightmare.
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