RORY McIlroy made history yesterday at the Masters, becoming just the fourth player ever to win back-to-back green jackets.
A year ago at this time, McIlory had only heartbreak at Augusta National. Now he has two green jackets, joining Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods as the only players ever to win twice in a row in the tournament’s 90-year history.
This one wasn’t handed to him. After taking a record-setting six-shot lead into the weekend, McIlroy completely coughed it up, setting up an immortal vs infamy either/or scenario heading into yesterday’s final round.
Either he’d join the elite foursome or become the record-setter for the largest 36-hole lead lost at a Masters.
Midway though yesterday’s final round, it looked like it could be the latter, as Cameron Young had wrestled the lead away. And by the time he made the turn at the back, it was Justin Rose who’d vaulted to the top of the leaderboard.
But when McIlroy walked to the 12th tee, he’d regained a one-shot lead, but faced the most daunting shot at Augusta National - the thin strip of green guarded by Rae’s Creek in front. And all McIlroy did was stick it to inside 7 feet, the closest all day.
One birdie putt later and all that remained was for McIlroy not to implode. He didn’t … barely.
Despite putting his tee shot at 18 into the woods, he hung on to finish XX-under for the tournament, one shot clear of a hard-charging Scottie Scheffler, who entered the weekend trailing McIlroy by a dozen strokes.
Now, after 17 years of waiting, Rory McIlroy has won at Augusta for the second straight year and the sixth major championship of his career, which puts him in a tie with Lee Trevino, Faldo and Phil Mickelson for 12th all time.
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