McIlroy repeats as Masters champion to join Jack, Faldo, Tiger

Rory McIlroy is the Masters champion again, this time without falling to his knees on the 18th green and sobbing over finally achieving his lifelong dream.

That didn’t make Sunday at Augusta National any easier.

McIlroy coughed up a six-shot lead in the third round. He fell two shots behind two players, Cameron Young and Justin Rose, in an electric final round. And then he delivered two big birdies around Amen Corner to join more elite company.

A year ago, his playoff victory over Rose made McIlroy only the sixth player with the career Grand Slam. With another green jacket, McIlroy joined Tiger Woods, Nick Faldo and Jack Nicklaus as the only repeat winners of the Masters.

As usual, he kept everyone on edge until the very end.

His wedge barely cleared the false front of the par-5 15th, a shot that could have been disastrous. His putt from behind the 16th green made a sharp turn down the slope to inches away save par. He saved par with a tough chip on the 17th. Staked to a two-shot lead, his tee shot on the 18th wound up closer to the 10th fairway.

“I’d say walking off the 18th tee not knowing where my ball was, that was the moment of greatest stress,” McIlroy said.

He drilled 8-iron around the trees into a bunker, blasted out to 12 feet and took two putts for bogey and a 1-under 71. 

He now has six majors, tied with Faldo, Lee Trevino and Phil Mickelson. And that sense of freedom he brought back to Augusta National as a champion carried him to the finish line.

He finished at 12-under 276.

President Donald Trump congratulated McIlroy on social media as he flew back to Washington from Florida.

It was more heartache for Rose, and frustration for the others who had a chance.

Rose had a two-shot lead that evaporated around Amen Corner with two bogeys and a three-putt par. He had to settle for a third close call at the Masters.

“Chance that got away,” Rose said. “I was by no means free and clear and was nowhere kind of close to having the job done, but I was right in position. ... I was playing great, but just momentum shifted for me around the Amen Corner.”



(AP Photo Ashley Landis)