Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler Make History in Masters Duel
Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler put on excellent displays at different times at The Masters, and it all added up to a historic weekend. McIlroy edged Scheffler by a single stroke after a nearly-catastrophic 18th hole and Scheffler's missed putt on the 17th that would've made up the difference. Either way, both have now joined exclusive clubs in different ways.
Rory McIlroy wins again
Rory McIlroy triumphed last year at Augusta National and became the sixth golfer ever to win every single one of the four Majors at some point during their careers. For McIlroy, it came after over a decade of struggles in all Majors, not just The Masters.
But once the seal was broken, McIlroy seemed to have no pressure at all. He cruised to a six-shot lead after 36, the largest lead after two rounds in Masters history. McIlroy stumbled a bit in round three and started off poorly in the final, dropping incomprehensibly to fourth, but he recovered.
He survived Amen Corner with a -2 and began to keep the field at arm's length. Scottie Scheffler's mad dash to the end was the only thing that really threatened, as Justin Rose, Cam Young, and other contenders couldn't bridge a two or three-stroke gap in the final few holes.
McIlroy's bogey putt from a few inches away cemented him as the fourth player to ever win two straight Masters. It sealed a one-stroke win and put McIlroy in company with Tiger Woods, Nick Faldo, and Jack Nicklaus. He truly became one of the best to ever do it on Sunday.
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Scottie Scheffler makes history as well
When Rory McIlroy's final inches-long putt fell in the cup, it sealed his final score at -12. Scottie Scheffler was stuck on -11, and he'd been done for a few holes. He opened play in round three 12 back of McIlroy, and that would've been the largest two-round comeback in Masters history.
How did he do it? By making a bit of history himself. He shot a career-best 65 in the third round. It was such a great round, Scheffler dismissed a reporter's question about how much better it could've been. The -7 combined with McIlroy's +1 that day cut the deficit to four.
Then, Scheffler made more history. Though his birdie putt on 17 was millimeters away from dropping in and getting him to -12 on the day, which would've tied for first, he avoided a bogey. That made it two straight rounds without a bogey, and no one except Scheffler in 2026 has ever done that at Augusta National.
Rory McIlroy comments
Every year, there are challenges for those who have and have not won the Masters. For Rory McIlroy, those challenges have been different each year, but they are challenging, nonetheless. This was one of the lessons of the weekend.
"I thought it was so difficult to win last year because of trying to win the Masters and the Grand Slam, and then this year I realized it's just really difficult to win the Masters," McIlroy said. "I tried to convince myself it was both."
McIlroy is now also the fourth golfer to ever hold the lead or be tied for first after every single round at the Masters. It got a little hairy at the beginning of the final round and on the 18th hole, but things turned out just fine.
"I felt like I needed to (watch the scoreboard), especially after the rough start," McIlroy said. "Needed to know where I was in the tournament, and after the sixth hole I was like, 'OK, if I can get back to even par for the day,' which I did with the birdies on 7 and 8, I knew I was going to be right in there going into the back nine. I was keeping an eye all day."
And despite others, including Justin Rose, who went to a playoff with McIlroy in 2025, taking the lead, McIlroy didn't waver. He eventually came out a two-time Masters champion.
