Rory McIlroy defends Masters Tournament in dramatic finish to claim sixth Major title

Rory McIlroy successfully defended his Masters title to claim a sixth Major victory and become just the fourth man in history to win in back‑to‑back years.

A year after securing the missing piece of the Grand Slam at The Masters and ending more than a decade of heartache around Augusta National, McIlroy won for a second time in a row on a Sunday that demanded every bit of his resilience.

Following a Saturday that saw his record 36‑hole lead erased, McIlroy survived unrelenting drama and several lead changes during the final round as he came out on top of the 90th Masters Tournament with a historic one‑stroke victory over Scottie Scheffler.

"I just can't believe I waited 17 years to get one green jacket, and I get two in a row," he said immediately after in Butler Cabin.

"It's just sort of the way -- I don't know. I think all of my perseverance at this golf tournament over the years has really started to pay off. It was a tough weekend. I did the bulk of my work on Thursday and Friday. But just so, so happy to hang in there and get the job done."

He survived an early stumble to Cameron Young, a charging Justin Rose and a late push from World Number One Scottie Scheffler as he found his way to a two‑shot lead heading to the 18th tee.

With a shot cushion greater than he had last year, his final hole was still far from a straightforward victory march. McIlroy found the trees on the right with his drive, and his following approach finished in the front‑right bunker. From a difficult lie, he splashed out to 12 feet and rolled his putt to tap‑in range for bogey, and the title.

As he crouched to his knees, shaking his head with a smile, he was heard saying, “Can’t believe it. No way,” before tapping in to complete the successful defence of his title.

He joins Jack Nicklaus, Sir Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods as the fourth player to win the Masters in consecutive years. He also joins Sir Nick Faldo on six Major wins, tying the most of any European golfer in history.

"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.

"Yeah, just incredible. I obviously did the bulk of my work on Thursday and Friday. I don't think I would have believed anyone if they said to me all you have to do is shoot even-par for the weekend and you'll win. I definitely thought I was going to need to go out there and at least shoot a couple of under-par scores.

"The course in the afternoon -- yesterday the course was gettable pretty much all day, but today the wind was up a little bit. It was gusty. It made things definitely a little more tricky, especially on the back nine.

"Yeah, I just had to hang in there. I did a decent green session last night and tried to figure a couple of things out, and I definitely hit my irons better today. I think I struck the ball better today overall, which was good to see, but I still needed to rely on my short game those last few holes.

"The up-and-down on 16 and the up-and-down on 17 were huge.

"Yeah, just absolutely delighted to be able to get it done. 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."

McIlroy began the day tied at the top with Young, but following the same pattern as Saturday, the early momentum belonged to the American as he moved one ahead with a birdie at the third.

At the fourth, McIlroy suffered an early stumble with a double bogey that briefly echoed the nervy start he made last year. It dropped him two behind and, before long, he had company at ten‑under‑par.

Among that group was three‑time runner‑up Justin Rose, who McIlroy defeated in a play‑off last year. Rose had chipped in for birdie at the first, and after dropping a shot at the third, responded with birdies at the fifth and seventh to climb the leaderboard alongside Russell Henley.

Another bogey for McIlroy at the fifth kept him on the back foot, but with Young also dropping a shot, it was Rose who capitalised. Birdies at the eighth and ninth first brought him into a share of the lead and then moved him one clear when Young made another mistake.

Seeking his own slice of history and a second Major title, Rose briefly held a two‑shot advantage, but McIlroy and Young quickly cut into it with birdies at the eighth. When Rose was unable to save par at the 11th after pushing his approach right of the green, McIlroy suddenly found himself back alongside his Ryder Cup teammate at the top.

Rose then missed the back of the 12th green and failed to get up and down, dropping another shot. It was on that same hole that McIlroy produced one of the key moments of his round, hitting his tee shot to 6.3 feet — the closest of anyone all day — and converting the birdie to open up a two‑shot lead and earn some brief breathing room.

A hole later, McIlroy extended his advantage again. After going long with his second at the par‑five 13th, he judged his long putt beautifully from the back bowl and calmly rolled in the birdie to reach 13‑under and establish a three‑shot lead.

It was those two moments he signalled as the key moments of his round.

"I think the tee shot on 12 and then the tee shot on 13, just to give me the option to go for the green in two. I struggled with that tee shot all week. I was up in the pine straw there one too many times, and I made a really good committed swing off the 13th tee, and that enabled me to go for the green in two. To make a birdie there following the birdie on 12, that was massive."

Scheffler briefly mounted a very real challenge on the closing stretch, making birdies at both the 15th and 16th to move within two shots of the lead. He had a chance to close the gap further at the 17th but was unable to convert, and at the last he found himself scrambling for par after his approach landed on the front portion of the green and rolled back off.

McIlroy then needed some scrambling expertise of his own. After flying the 16th green, he produced a brilliantly judged putt from the back, using the contours perfectly as the ball climbed the slope and trickled back down to inside a foot for a vital par.

Another composed up‑and‑down followed at the 17th, preserving his two‑shot cushion and leaving only the final hole between him and history.

With his family watching on, McIlroy revealed that his parents almost weren't there for a second year in a row, but to have both them and Erica and Poppy there to celebrate with was 'incredible'.

"Incredible. It's the second major my mom has been at, second major win. She was at The Open at Hoylake in 2014.

"There was a piece of them that didn't want to come this year because they thought, okay, we didn't come last year; maybe that was the reason. But I'm so glad that they got to experience this today. I'm going to -- we're all going to have a great time tonight."

Scheffler finished at 11-under-par, with the quartet of Justin Rose, Cameron Young, Tyrrell Hatton and Russell Henley a shot further back.

To watch Rory McIlroy live on the DP World Tour, click here to buy your tickets. The six-time Major champion is confirmed to play at the Genesis Scottish Open, Amgen Irish Open, BMW PGA Championship and DP World India Championship.