cWith the determination of the chosen ones, Rory McIlroy retained the green jacket at the Masters. It was not the ride he had drawn on Friday when he took a six-stroke lead, but he was able to enjoy the triumphant ride on the 18th hole, an unrepeatable sensation. His name is already registered alongside those of Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods as one of the four who managed to repeat the title at Augusta National.
He is already, along with the Englishman, the European golfer with the most majors of the modern era. Six. Harry Vardon won six British and one US Open between 1896 and 1914. “He will win five more green jackets,” predicted Fred Couples. At 36 years old, the furniture in his display case still needs to be expanded. He is already a vintage golfer. (Results)
The Sunday battle, accompanied by some wind, without Augusta National going crazy with the preparation of the course, with the greens fast enough to demand precise and intelligent shots, it was lively until Rory’s final blow.
Rory McIlroy serves from a bunker on the 18th hole
The first shock knocked out the weakest: Sam Burns. He had come to co-lead the Masters after a birdie on hole 1, but got lost in the woods on the next hole, made a double bogey, and did not appear again. As an alternative to the powerful, Young, McIlroy, the inexhaustible Justin Rose and Scheffler, came Russell Henley. He has been covered throughout the Masters, but he made four hits in eight holes and reached double digits under par. He also passed McIlroy, who was a calamity in all his decisions in the wakes. On the first two par 3s he had accumulated a double bogey, which Nicklaus told him never to do, and another error.
After the first third they were already two strokes behind the leaders Young and Rose, who was trying to avoid the dubious honor of tying Tom Weiskopf for the most runner-up finishes (4) in Masters history. He avoided it. He was third.
The tournament looked like a cycling competition. A breakaway in the lead in relays. Young’s bogey at 7; Rose, leader. The Englishman hits the hole at 9 and goes up to -12. Then, Birdie and birdie from Rory on the 7th, the 8th, the Northern Irishman passed to his wheel. This time, the 2025 champion did take streets, a safer way to perform in Augusta.
The title was among those five golfers because Hatton, the only accurate player in LIV Golf this week, He was going to be missing holes. He linked four consecutive birdies from the 13th to the 16th hole to reach 10 under par as well. But it wasn’t enough for a fabulous competitor. The jacket would be discussed, in short, between the top three in the world ranking, 9th and 12th. A tall fight.
Scheffler, afternoon
At the final nine holes, Rose (-12) arrived one stroke ahead of Rory, unlike last year. Ydos on Young and Henley. Scheffler (-9), the most feared, the golfer of the decade, had gone cold for 9 holes. He would not make any more birdies until the 15th. He repeated it at the 16th. He lacked ground. But he earned credit for being the first player to play Augusta National without a bogey on the weekend.
It was stepping on Amen Corner—the sanctuary that in Augusta means the green of the 11th hole, the 12th hole (par 3) and the tee of the 13th— and the Englishman that Seve sponsored in his day faltered. His divorce with the Masters seems eternal. He made two bogeys – the approach to 12 was very painful and didn’t even reach the green – and left Rory alone in the lead.
In that place last year, McIlroy put his Grand Slam in serious jeopardy. He fixed it with a marvel in the 15th. But this time he knew the lesson. In the last three weeks he has been flying almost daily to Augusta from Jupiter (Florida) to get to know every corner of himself.
The 11th hole, after Saturday’s double bogey, was played defensively. And on the 12th, the par 3 of the chaotic winds which have been studied in the Western Ontario wind tunnel, planted the ball at one meter. He opened a gap of two with the rest. In the 13th, after a drive of 319 meters, he extended it to three.
It was about not messing up. He made a comfortable bogey at 18, before throwing his hands over his head and hugging Poppy and kissing Erika. Even in that he has improved his life. Eternal glory to McIlroy, who in 2027 will try to achieve what no one has done: a third conquest.
