Rory McIlroy Wins Back-to-Back Masters, Edges Scheffler in Thriller

With the win, McIlroy joins an elite group of just four players to win back-to-back Masters titles, becoming the first to do so since Tiger Woods achieved it in 2001-02.

A one-shot win over Scheffler gave McIlroy a 15-year span between his first and sixth major championships.

McIlroy finished the tournament at 12-under-par with a closing round of 71, maintaining at least a share of the lead throughout all four rounds. After finally capturing his first Masters title last year to complete the career Grand Slam, a feat that took over a decade, he needed only one more year to add another green jacket to his collection.

Reflecting on the win, McIlroy noted that while the pressure of completing the Grand Slam made last year particularly challenging, he came to appreciate that winning the Masters is always a formidable task regardless of circumstances.

"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. I tried to convince myself it was both," he said after the win.

Justin Rose, who entered the final nine holes with a two-shot advantage and was aiming to become one of the oldest champions at age 45, faltered with four bogeys and ultimately finished tied for third at 10-under alongside Tyrrell Hatton, Russell Henley, and Cameron Young. Rose had also fallen short to McIlroy in a playoff the previous year.

Despite a bogey on the 18th hole, McIlroy managed to stay ahead of Scheffler, who delivered a strong final round of 68 and became the first player since World War II to complete the final 36 holes of the Masters without a single bogey.

The victory brings McIlroy's total major championship wins to six, placing him level with Nick Faldo as the second-most successful European golfer in majors, behind only Harry Vardon.

Acknowledging the difficulty of competing at the highest level, McIlroy remarked that winning tournaments no longer comes as easily as it once did earlier in his career, emphasising just how demanding the sport has become.

"I don't make it easy. I used to make it easy back in my early 20s when I was winning these things by eight shots. It's just hard. It's hard to win golf tournaments," he said.

- IANS