Rory McIlroy completed his second Masters victory in as many years on Sunday as he joined an elite band of golfing greats to have retained this most storied of major championships. Before McIlroy won by a single stroke ahead of Scottie Scheffler, only Tiger Woods (2001 and 2002), Nick Faldo (1989 and 1990), and Jack Nicklaus (1965 and 1966) had won back-to-back Masters at Augusta National. And now the man from Holywood can be spoken of in the same breath as those true legends of golf… and we wouldn’t be surprised if he’s already started thinking about becoming the first man to win three in a row!
Here we’ll take a look back at how McIlroy won his sixth major, and we’ll assess how many he might win in the years to come, and where he stands in the hierarchy of the greatest players the game has ever seen.
How Rory Won the 2026 Masters
| Position | Player | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Par Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rory McIlroy | 67 | 65 | 73 | 71 | -12 (276) |
| 2 | Scottie Scheffler | 70 | 74 | 65 | 68 | -11 (277) |
| =3 | Cameron Young | 73 | 67 | 65 | 73 | -10 (278) |
| =3 | Justin Rose | 70 | 69 | 69 | 70 | -10 (278) |
| =3 | Russell Henley | 73 | 71 | 66 | 69 | -10 (278) |
| =3 | Tyrrell Hatton | 74 | 66 | 72 | 66 | -10 (278) |
| =7 | Collin Morikawa | 74 | 69 | 68 | 68 | -9 (279) |
| =7 | Sam Burns | 67 | 71 | 68 | 73 | -9 (279) |
| =9 | Max Homa | 72 | 70 | 71 | 67 | -8 (280) |
| =9 | Xander Schauffele | 70 | 72 | 70 | 68 | -8 (280) |
Those who have followed McIlroy’s illustrious career to date will know it hasn’t all been plain sailing. And that was certainly true of his most recent major triumph. After two rounds, Rory was sitting pretty, six shots clear at the top of the leaderboard – a record lead at halfway. His driving had been far from perfect, but his short game had got him out of trouble (and then some!) on numerous occasions, and his main rivals couldn’t keep pace. Things had changed somewhat by the end of the third round, however, as the field reeled him in and he was only the joint leader on -11 with Cameron Young.
By the end of the third round, Rory looked exhausted and frustrated and simply couldn’t consistently hit the fairways. Going into the fourth round, the tournament was wide open, but after a steady start with two pars and a birdie from the opening three holes, things started to look decidedly worrying for McIlroy fans when the Northern Irishman three-putted on the par-three fourth to drop two shots. That clearly gave several players hope of landing the title for themselves, and the likes of Justin Rose, Young, Scheffler, Tyrrell Hatton, and Russell Henley all had decent opportunities to prevail.
McIlroy dropped another shot on the sixth, and his fans were wondering whether it was just going to be one of those days (again!). But then the defending champion steadied the ship with back-to-back birdies on the seventh and eighth, to go back to 11 under par. With Rose looking solid on 12 under, and a clutch of others well in contention, there was palpable excitement at Augusta, and it really could have gone to any one of five or six players.
Before long, however, McIlroy showed his class. He birdied the par-three 12th in daring fashion and following up with another birdie at the 13th. With his main rivals unable to convert their chances to pile on the pressure, things began to fall into place for Rory.
Until, that is, the final hole. Despite having sorted out his driving issues for the final round, he hit an awful tee shot deep into the trees on the right of the fairway. Things could have been a lot worse, however, as he had a decent lie and managed to find enough of a gap to chip into a greenside bunker, which was about as good as he could have done. A deft shot onto the putting surface followed, leaving McIlroy with two putts from around eight feet to claim victory. It was just as well he had two putts, too, as he needed them. But in the end it was a thoroughly deserved triumph, and one he could enjoy without the desperate pressure and subsequent relief of the 2025 win.
How Many Majors Could Rory Win?
As mentioned, that Masters win was McIlroy’s sixth major. That moves him one ahead of the great Seve Ballesteros (among others) and level with Phil Mickelson, Nick Faldo, and Lee Trevino. There are still several players above him in the all-time list of major winners: Jack Nicklaus (18 wins), Tiger Woods (15), Walter Hagen (11), Ben Hogan and Gary Player (nine apiece), Tom Watson (eight), and Harry Vardon, Bobby Jones, Gene Sarazen, Sam Snead, and Arnold Palmer (each with seven majors). So, how many can Rory win?
A lot will come down to his fitness and his desire, neither of which has shown any signs of fading anytime soon. McIlroy turns 37 in May, which isn’t particularly ancient for a golfer. Given that Phil Mickelson won his last major (the US PGA Championship) at the age of 50 in 2021, Rory has plenty more time to add to his tally. So far, he has two Masters wins and two PGA Championship victories, with one each at The Open and the US Open. He would no doubt love to get multiple wins in the two Opens, and of course, he’ll be going all out for the hat-trick when he returns to Augusta in 2027.
As one of only six men to have completed a career Grand Slam, perhaps Rory’s next big target would be to get to double figures in terms of major victories. If he achieves that, there would be only three men ahead of him in the all-time list, and while he is already safely secured as one of the greats of the game, making it to 10 or more majors would propel him to legendary status and beyond. Over to you, Rory!