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Rory McIlroy can breathe a sigh of relief.
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McIlroy won his second straight Masters Tournament on Sunday \u2014 joining Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Nick Faldo as the only golfers who\u2019ve won the sport\u2019s most prestigious tournament two years in a row.
McIlroy led by six strokes after 36 holes, but he entered Sunday tied for first after a disastrous third round. In danger of blowing the biggest two-round lead in Masters history, McIlroy rebounded under pressure, shooting a final-round 71 to secure his second green jacket.
Scottie Scheffler finished second. Cameron Young \u2014 who was in the final pairing with McIlroy \u2014 finished tied for third with three others, including last year\u2019s runner-up, Justin Rose.
\u201cI just can\u2019t believe I waited 17 years to get one green jacket, and I get two in a row,\u201d McIlroy said on the CBS telecast. \u201cI think all of my my perseverance at this golf tournament over the years has really started to pay off.”
McIlroy was dominant to start at the course in Augusta, Georgia. Picking up where he left off last year \u2014 when he defeated Rose in a playoff to win his first Masters \u2014 McIlroy was 12-under after two rounds, having shot a blistering 65 in the second round to open a six-stroke lead over the rest of the field. But he stumbled in the third, shooting a 1-over 73 to fall to 11-under and into a tie with Young for first place.
Amid whispers that McIlroy could repeat some of his worst losses at Augusta, he came back with a vengeance Sunday. He was brilliant as his final round went on, hitting three birdies from holes eight to 13 to give himself a cushion he would never relinquish down the stretch.
\u201cI\u2019m absolutely delighted to get it done,\u201d McIlroy said. \u201cHaving a six-shot lead going into the weekend, would have been a bitter to pill to swallow if I didn\u2019t get it done.\u201d
McIlroy had a tortured career at Augusta before the last two years. He lost as part of the final pairings in both 2011 and 2018. A loss Sunday would have echoed some of the lowest moments of his otherwise storied career.
Instead, it was a repeat of his most impressive accomplishment as a pro. And now, instead of an historic loss, McIlroy has entered a new, rarefied tier as one of golf\u2019s all-time greats.
\u201cI thought it was so difficult to win last year because of trying to win the Masters and the grand slam,\u201d McIlroy said. \u201cThis year I realized it\u2019s just really difficult to win the Masters.\u201d
He added: \u201cI don\u2019t make it easy.\u201d
Rohan Nadkarni is a sports reporter for NBC News.\u00a0
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