AUGUSTA, Georgia, April 12 (Reuters) - Rory McIlroy waited 17 years for his first Green Jacket and then on Sunday did what only three golfers before him had managed by winning a second Masters in a row.
The world number two, who let a record six-shot advantage slide on Saturday, capped a closing one-under-par 71 with a bogey that left him at 12 under on the week and one shot clear of Scottie Scheffler.
When his winning putt dropped, the Northern Irishman looked to the clear blue Georgia skies and let out a jubilant roar before hugging caddie Harry Diamond, while cheers of "Rory! Rory!" bounced off Augusta National's towering pine trees.
"I just can't believe I waited 17 years to get one Green Jacket and then I get two in a row," said McIlroy. "I think all of my perseverance at this golf tournament over the years has started to pay off."
With the win, the 36-year-old joins Jack Nicklaus (1965, 1965), Nick Faldo (1989, 1990) and Tiger Woods (2001, 2002) as the only players to successfully defend their Masters title.
'STILL HAVE THINGS I WANT TO ACHIEVE'
McIlroy, who joked earlier this week that Augusta National felt like his home course given he took multiple day trips on his private jet in recent weeks to prepare, is still hungry for more after joiningLee Trevino, Nick Faldo and Phil Mickelson as players with six major championships.
"I don't want to put a number on it, but I feel like this win is just -- I don't want to say a stop on the journey, but yeah, it's just a part of the journey," said McIlroy."I still have things I want to achieve."
Scheffler, a four-time major champion who had won two of the last four Masters, started the day four shots back but nearly got to within one of McIlroy at 17. Putting for a third straight birdie, his ball stopped agonizingly just beside the hole.
Scheffler, who went out three pairings ahead of McIlroy, carded a 68 that left him alone in second while becoming the first player in the last 82 years to play the final two rounds bogey-free at the Masters.
"I always felt like I was a couple shots out of it, but I was ahead of those guys, so I felt like if I could make a few birdies and post a score I'd be in a good spot but just wasn't able to make enough birdies on the back," he said.
ANOTHER MASTERS MISS FOR ROSE
LIV Golf's Tyrrell Hatton (66), birthday boy Russell Henley (68), 2025 Masters runner-up Justin Rose (70) and overnight co-leader Cameron Young (73) finished in a share of third place.
Rose, who lost to McIlroy in a playoff last year for his third runner-up finish, had a one-shot lead through 10 holes before watching it disappear after a bogey-bogey start to Amen Corner.
"Chance that got away obviously," said Rose, who was the only player in the field with four rounds under par this week.
"You know, I was by no means kind of free and clear and was nowhere kind of close to having the job done, but I was right in position."
McIlroy, up by one, sensed the opportunity and put his foot on the gas as he stuffed his tee shot at the par-three 12th to seven feet for a birdie moments before Rose three-putted from 30 feet at the 13th where he had an eagle look.
From there, McIlroy mostly spared himself the topsy-turvy finish he had to endure in the final round last year as he rolled in an 11-foot birdie to go three clear moments after Scheffler got to within two after a birdie on the 15th.
MCILROY BOGEYS 18TH AFTER ERRANT TEE SHOT
With victory in sight, McIlroy caught a break at the 15th where his third shot was just enough to avoid the water guarding the green. He delivered a pressure-packed up-and-down from behind the green at 16 and then bogeyed the last after an errant tee shot and leaving his second shot in a bunker.
McIlroy struggled with his putting early on and fell two shots behind Young after a costly double bogey at the par-three fourth, where he missed the green off the tee and then three-putted from nine feet.
He made bogey two holes later after missing another par-three green but made two birdies before the turn to stay firmly in the mix going into the second nine where the tournament hung in the balance.
"I just had to hang in there," said McIlroy. "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."
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Augusta, Georgia; editing by Pritha Sarkar and Peter Rutherford)
