Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
Congratulations are in order to Sunday’s back-to-back Masters’ winner Rory McIlroy.
His 12-under par total was good enough for a one-shot win over Scottie Scheffler. He won a second Masters’ green jacket for his closet.
It was McIlroy’s sixth career Grand Slam win. That moved Rory into a tie for 12th place all-time with golf legends like Lee Trevino, Phil Mickelson, and Nick Faldo.
Rory McIlroy also became the fourth member of an elite golf club who have won The Masters in back-to-back years.
Jack Nicklaus (1965 and 1966), Nick Faldo (1989 and 1990), and Tiger Woods (2001 and 2002) make for pretty good company, indeed.
Ironically, Rory McIlroy finished at the same score relative to par (12-under) that he posted through Friday as Round 2 concluded. He led by a record six shots at the halfway point of this golf tournament.
Marketing executives at CBS Sports and Golf Channel were sweating bullets on Friday night
The media bosses feared that Saturday’s third round might lead to an insurmountable (and very boring) final round on Sunday if McIlroy was up by six or more strokes after Round 3.
The Masters usually delivers golf’s biggest television audience of the year.
Fortunately for a very nervous media, Rory’s good fortune on Thursday and Friday turned into a “hold on for dear life” weekend of golf survival playing in the trees.
Northern Ireland’s top golfer watched his six-shot lead completely evaporate as Round 3 drew to a close Saturday. He went into Sunday’s final round tied with the unshakably steady Cameron Young at -11. More than a dozen other top golfers had moved within five shots of the lead.
But no one in the 2026 Masters field mounted a back nine charge on Sunday!
Former Shreveport and LSU golfer Sam Burns briefly joined McIlroy and Cameron Young at the top of the leaderboard at -11 Sunday after carding a birdie on his opening hole. Unfortunately, a double bogey 7 on the par-5 second hole quickly dropped Burns from the top of the leaderboard.
He never recovered but still finished the tournament at 9-under par and in a tie for seventh place.
LIV Golf’s Tyrell Hatton started Sunday seven shots behind the leaders. Even with two bogies during his final round, Hatton posted four straight birdies at one point in his round. He finished with a nifty 66 on Sunday to post a 10-under par total and tied for third place.
Georgia native Russell Henley posted a brilliant 3-under score on the front nine and found himself just one shot off the lead at -10 at the turn. Unfortunately, Henley (like so many others chasing the lead) failed to capitalize on the two par-5’s on Augusta National’s back nine holes. He finished at ten under par and tied for third.
Cameron Young (a recent winner of The Players Championship) took the lead alone at -12 at the second hole after posting a birdie.
Unfortunately, that would be one of just two birdies made by Cameron Young during his final round. He stayed close all day Sunday but consecutive bogies at holes #6 and 7 dropped him out of the lead. Young missed numerous opportunities on the back nine. He would par every hole from #10 through 18 to finish -10 and, yes, tied for third place.
Perpetual contender Justin Rose finished second last year to Rory McIlroy after a playoff.
On Sunday, Rose mounted a mid-round charge to take briefly claim the lead at -12 after converting three straight birdies. The patrons at Augusta National were solidly behind 45-year old Justin Rose as he was trying to claim his first green Masters jacket.
Unfortunately, Rose posted consecutive bogies at #11 and 12 to drop out of the lead for good. He failed to birdie either of the two remaining par-5 holes and finished in a four-way tie for third place at ten under par.
Two-time Masters winner Scottie Scheffler started the final weekend on Saturday trailing by a whopping ten shots at 2-under par. He shot a near-perfect bogey-free 67 on Saturday. Scheffler began the final round at -7 and only four shots behind the leaders.
Scottie Scheffler started slowly on Sunday. After posting a birdie on the par-4 third hole, he then parred 11 straight holes and seemed unlikely to mount a late charge. Scheffler finally converted birdies on both #15 and 16 to juice the massive crowds and pull within one shot of the lead at -11. Unfortunately, he was unable to birdie either of the final two holes to tie the leader.
Scheffler’s closing round of 69 climaxed the first bogey-free final 36 holes of golf played at The Masters since 1942! He finished alone in second place – just one shot behind Rory McIlroy.
Rory kept his head above water just long enough to grab a second consecutive green jacket
McIlroy posted a torrid 12-under par score on Thursday and Friday to take a six shot lead into the weekend. His second round on Friday featured six birdies over the closing seven holes.
He literally couldn’t miss for nearly two hours.
McIlroy punched out of the trees after wayward tee shots and still birdied the par-5 holes. He even birdied hole #17 after producing a timely 30-yard pitch shot all the way across a lightning-fast green and into the cup.
Those two stellar rounds of 67 and 65 gave McIlroy the largest 36-hole lead in Masters history.
Only an epic collapse by Rory would save the day for CBS’s television coverage over the weekend.
And that’s exactly what (almost) happened
Saturday saw a talented pack of competitors rally up the leaderboard as Rory’s early magic faltered. After struggling to a one-over par 73, McIlroy’s entire lead vanished during the third round of play.
In the opening holes on Sunday, Rory McIlroy still looked shaky at times.
He double-bogeyed the par-3 4th hole by taking three putts from five feet away from the cup. McIlroy added another bogey at the par-3 6th hole to drop to 9-under par and briefly fell two shots behind playing partner Cameron Young.
That’s when Rory McIlroy finally steadied his nerves and golf game as a number of competitors failed to apply much pressure over Augusta National’s slightly easier final nine holes.
McIlroy (known for his go-for-broke playing style) took a big risk by taking aim at the flagstick on the treacherous par-3 12th hole.
Rae’s Creek has claimed many final round victims (ask Jordan Spieth) if your golf ball should come up short or fade toward the adjacent water hazard guarding the green. Rory McIlroy’s tee shot at #12 finished less than seven feet away the cup. It was the closest shot to the hole on Sunday. He rolled-in that birdie putt to reach -12 and never lost the lead again.
Rory McIlroy’s final round one-under par 71 wasn’t a classic round of golf. However, it was good enough for him to capture a second straight green jacket at The Masters.
Other Masters takeaways
By virtue of his top-15 finish, England’s Justin Rose will return to play The Masters again next year at age 46.
Rose has finished second at The Masters three times and was tied for third place on Sunday. Fans (oops, I mean patrons) would love to see Rose finally break through and win his first green jacket in 2027.
It might produce an 18th hole celebration similar to that heard in 1986 when 46-year old Jack Nicklaus claimed his sixth and final Masters title.
Expect LIV Golf’s Bryson DeChambeau to be spending a lot of “beach time” this week.
The long-hitting fan favorite missed the cut in this year’s Masters after a couple of sand traps doomed his chances of competing this weekend. DeChambeau took three shots to exit the sand on #11 during Thursday’s opening round in carding a triple bogey.
During Friday’s second round, Bryson needed an up and down from a greenside bunker at #18 in order to make the 36-hole cut and play this weekend.
His first shot from the bunker came up a foot short but rolled back down into the trap. Those sand shot issues led to a couple of triple bogies, a 6-over par finish, and an early trip home. Expect Bryson DeChambeau to be spending a lot of time in the sand this week!
One final odd thought. The Masters tournament proudly continues to offer $1.50 sandwiches to hungry patrons made from either Pimento cheese or egg salad.
A rather creative Masters merchandiser began selling golf hats featuring the names of those two classic bargain-priced sandwiches. No, the hats do not go for $1.50!
One particularly creative fellow wore his Masters “Egg Salad” hat and sat in the same spot at the back of the 16th tee box for the television cameras to see him – every single day of the tournament.
I wouldn’t want to be standing all day behind the “Egg Salad” guy at the 16th hole, would you?