Rory McIlroy admitted that it would have been a ‘bitter pill to swallow’ to not turn a record-breaking halfway lead at The Masters into a historic title defence at Augusta National.
McIlroy became just the fourth player in history to win back-to-back editions of The Masters, following last year’s dramatic play-off win over Justin Rose – completing the Grand Slam – by claiming a one-shot win over Scottie Scheffler on Sunday.
The world No 2 built a six-shot halfway lead – the largest 36-hole advantage in Masters history – but fell two behind playing partner Cameron Young during the final day having dropped three shots in a two-hole stretch on his first nine.
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Highlights from the final round of The Masters at Augusta National, where Rory McIlroy claimed a narrow win
McIlroy responded by finding four birdies over the rest of this round, with a final-hole bogey enough to secure a sixth major title and join Jack Nicklaus, Sir Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods as the only players to win The Masters in successive years.
“I thought it was so difficult to win last year because of trying to win The Masters and the Grand Slam, then this year I realised it’s just really difficult to win The Masters,” McIlroy admitted. “I tried to convince myself it was both.
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Highlights of Rory McIlroy’s final round from The Masters, where he made history by defending his title
“Yeah, just incredible. I obviously did the bulk of my work on Thursday and Friday. I don’t think I would have believed anyone if they said to me all you have to do is shoot even-par for the weekend and you’ll win.
“I definitely thought I was going to need to go out there and at least shoot a couple of under-par scores. I just had to hang in there. Yeah, just absolutely delighted to be able to get it done.
“Having a six-shot lead going into the weekend, it would have been a bitter pill to swallow if I wasn’t able to get myself over the finish line.”
‘I don’t make it easy!’ – McIlroy savours more history
McIlroy started the final round tied for the lead but lost ground when he followed a birdie at the third with a three-putt double-bogey at the par-three next, with a dropped shot at the fifth dropping him further behind.
He followed successive gains from the sixth by adding back-to-back birdies from the 12th, putting him three ahead with five to play, with a one-under 71 enough to hold off Scheffler’s weekend charge.
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Rory McIlroy defended The Masters, closing out victory with a final-hole bogey
“I don’t make it easy!” McIlroy admitted. “I used to make it easy back in my early 20s when I was winning these things by eight shots.
“No, it’s just hard. It’s hard to win golf tournaments, especially around here. You’ve had maybe a couple of runaway winners over the years, but it always seems to be a very tight finish at this golf course. I think it’s the nature of the golf course, it’s the nature of what’s at stake.
“I certainly didn’t think I was home and dry after Friday night, and I knew I still needed work to do. But I still thought I would need to shoot under-par to get the job done, but thankfully I did enough.”
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Rory McIlroy played Amen Corner in two-under par to pull clear of the chasing pack and take a firm grip of The Masters during Sunday’s final round at Augusta National
McIlroy completed the third leg of the Grand Slam in 2014 but had 10 unsuccessful attempts after that to claim The Masters, his only missing major, with the Northern Irishman now claiming the Green Jacket in his 17th and 18th appearances at Augusta National.
“I just can’t believe I waited 17 years to get one Green Jacket and I get two in a row,” McIlroy added in the Butler Cabin. “I think all my perseverance at this golf tournament over the years has really started to pay off.
“It [letting a lead slip] felt pretty similar to last year. I made a double early on the first hole last year and I made a double on four this year, then I played flawless golf after that.
“I made four birdies and no bogeys going to the last tee knowing that I had a two-shot lead. It’s nice to have that two-shot cushion instead of the one like I had last year.
“I looked at the board after I made the bogey on six and I think I went back to nine under at that point, I said ‘okay, if I can get to 14-under, I think I’ve got a really good chance of winning this tournament’. I didn’t quite get there, but 13 was good enough standing on the 18th tee.”
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Rory McIlroy receives his Green Jacket from the Augusta National Golf Club chairman Fred Ridley in Butler Cabin
What’s next?
The PGA Tour heads to South Carolina for the RBC Heritage at Hilton Head Island, the latest Signature Event, where Justin Thomas returns as defending champion. Early coverage begins on Thursday from 12.30pm on Sky Sports Golf, ahead of full coverage from 7pm
The next men’s major is the PGA Championship from May 14-17, held at Aronimink Golf Club in Pennsylvania, also live on Sky Sports. Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract.