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Ireland s Rory McIlroy during the day 3 of the 2026 Masters golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia, United States, on April 11, 2026. Noxthirdxpartyxsales PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxJPN aflo_326672035
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Ireland s Rory McIlroy during the day 3 of the 2026 Masters golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia, United States, on April 11, 2026. Noxthirdxpartyxsales PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxJPN aflo_326672035
This week at Augusta was as dramatic as it could get. Rory McIlroy‘s early lead vanished on Saturday and a final round that almost was out of the books. So, when he walked off the 18th at Augusta National after winning, he was in tears before he even had the trophy in his hands because he knew what he had achieved.
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The first thing he did after winning was find his daughter, Poppy, hug her, and then embrace his wife in a warm hug and kiss her. Then he looked for his parents. His mother, Rosie, and father, Gerry, were in the crowd at Augusta, watching in person, and that alone carried its story.
His parents almost did not make the trip. After McIlroy won last year’s Masters without their presence, the family half-jokingly speculated that their absence might have been the reason for his victory. They were hesitant to break whatever had worked. But this is only the second major his mother has attended, the first being the 2014 Open Championship at Hoylake.
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It was McIlroy who insisted his parents come and watch him play, only to prove that theory wrong. His voice broke down while sharing this story in the Butler Cabin. Not only that, but his mother had her own style of supporting him. She carried a bag printed with a newspaper front page marking his career grand slam win last year that caught eyes.
With this win, McIlroy is now only the fourth player ever to win back-to-back green jackets, joining Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo, and Tiger Woods. This is the first time in 24 years someone has become a back-to-back Masters champion since 2002.
⛳️🏆🌺 #MASTERS CHAMPION — RORY MCILROY HAS GONE BACK-TO-BACK AT AUGUSTA.
It’s his 6th major win, and the first time someone has won back-to-back green jackets since Tiger Woods in ‘01-‘02 @TrackingRory pic.twitter.com/1DvGC1OP4y
— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) April 12, 2026
The victory also took him to six major championships, drawing level with Faldo, Lee Trevino, and Phil Mickelson for 12th on the all-time majors list. His numbers across the week backed the result: rounds of 67, 65, 73, and 71, finishing 12 under par, with 24 birdies, a 66.7% greens-in-regulation rate, and an average driving distance of 330.4 yards.
With McIlroy’s name now etched into Masters history, the moment needed a voice worthy of it. It got one.
“A Tradition Unlike Any Other”: Rory McIlroy gets a call unlike any other
Jim Nantz, calling his record 41st Masters, summed it up in seven words: “Rory is a rare repeat winner at Augusta.”
Nantz is now the longest-serving Masters commentator in history, surpassing former CBS colleague Verne Lundquist. He has told Scottish golf magazine Bunkered he plans to retire after the 100th Masters in 2036, which would be his 51st year calling Augusta. Sunday was one for that legacy.
Rory McIlroy’s second jacket was harder earned than his first, as this Sunday was not straightforward. The 36-year-old had taken a six-shot lead into the weekend, then lost it completely. Cameron Young took over, then Justin Rose moved to the top. At one point, the bigger story looked like it could be the largest 36-hole lead ever surrendered at Augusta.
The 12th hole changed everything. McIlroy hit his tee shot to within seven feet on the tournament’s most punishing par-3, made the birdie, and regained the lead. He held on from there, surviving a wayward tee shot at 18, and finishing one clear of Scottie Scheffler, who had started the weekend 12 strokes back.
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Riya Singhal