2026 Masters results: Rory McIlroy becomes the fourth man in Masters history to go back to back

Rory McIlroy’s parents weren’t in attendance for his Grand Slam win last year, but after some convincing, he was able to get them to Augusta. So this year, his mom and dad, Rosie and Gerry, and his wife and daughter, Erica and Poppy, were all in attendance for No. 2.

By the way, it wasn’t because his parents didn’t want to come. They thought he won because they weren’t there, so McIlroy had to convince his parents to be a little less superstitious.

Rory McIlroy had the largest 36-hole lead in Masters history on Friday night. He was six clear of the field at 12 under. Little did he now, he just needed to maintain that number to go back to back and win his sixth major title.

He ties Nick Faldo for the most major titles by a European player with lucky number six.

He’ll mark his ball, but it’ll be a tap-in for McIlroy to win it again.

He’s on the green after his driver took him to the pine straw and then he was in the bunker... But now he has two shots to win the Masters again.

Absolutely incredible. The man who couldn’t get it done is two strokes clear with a par 4 left between him and becoming the fourth back-to-back champion in Masters history. He would join a legendary list: Jack Nicklaus ('65, ’66), Nick Faldo ('89, ’90) and Tiger Woods ('01, ’02).

One reporter asked Collin Morikawa if the forthcoming birth of his first child is extra motivation. Here was his response:

“Absolutely. It’s motivation for me to get healthy. I want to be able to pick him up, roll around, play with him. I’ve got some work to do to get fully healthy, and we’re going to find a way to make sure I’m back.”

They’ve been paired together three out of four rounds this week, and we love the vibes from these two! No hard feelings between the Ryder Cuppers.

The two-time Masters champ is in the clubhouse at 11 under overall after a bogey-free 4-under 68. Scheffler was bogey free through the final two rounds to climb the leaderboard and is now solo second as the final groups come in.

An excerpt from our story on Saturday.

Rory McIlroy holds the largest 36-hole lead in Masters Tournament history entering the weekend, boding well for his chances to defend his 2025 title.

McIlroy built his six-stroke lead with a masterful showing in Friday’s second round, carding a 7-under 65. That included nine birdies to just two bogeys.

If McIlroy becomes just the fourth man to go back to back at Augusta National, one of the biggest questions is what happens to the green jacket ceremony?

We haven’t had to find out the answer since 2002, but there is a precedent for this rare break in tradition.

Read more.

Haotong Li — who is playing with Scottie Scheffler, mind you — is so far out of contention after starting the round very much in the mix.

It wasn’t going well from the beginning, but he was even through the first nine after four bogeys and four birdies. But it was Nos. 12 and 13 that derailed the Chinese star. He carded a triple bogey and then followed with a quintuple bogey.

After a birdie on No. 14, Li is T-33 at even par... He started the day 7 under, for reference.

Justin Rose just birdied No. 15 and is now tied for second at 11 under with Scottie Scheffler.

It’s a second consecutive birdie for 2022 & 2024 Masters champion Scottie Scheffler, and he’s solo second at 11 under. Two holes to go for him.

Scottie Scheffler made birdie from here and is now T-2 at 10 under overall. It seems the only ones at the top who are making moves are the two most recent champions.

It’s so improbably... so unfathomable... but Rory McIlroy is three shots clear of the field at 13 under with five holes to play.

He just birdied his second consecutive hole and proceeded to hit the fairway at No. 14, where he has scored two birdies and a par this week.

At one point, Justin Rose had the solo lead at 12 under. He was playing beautifully. Now, he’s two back from McIlroy. He’s playing aggressive, no doubt. That’s why he was able to par No. 13. But at this point, he’s running out of course to pick up shots. Five holes left, and his latest shot on No. 14 doesn’t look good.

Two days after leading by six at 12 under for the largest 36-hole lead in Masters history, Rory McIlroy is once again the solo leader at 12 under. He has two shots on those at T-2: Hatton, Henley, Rose and Young.

Now McIlroy goes to the par-5 13th, and it looks like he just hit his best drive of the day.

Collin Morikawa had to pull out of The Players with a back injury less than a month ago. This week, he was severely limited in the days leading up to the tournament, especially with driver — just wasn’t able to hit it anywhere near as long as he can.

After the first round, Morikawa said his back was fine, but it was his legs and, mentally, he was more nervous than he’d ever been. Withdrawing wasn’t out of the question.

Now? He’s T-6 at 9 under with two holes to play, and he has made five consecutive birdies.

Tyrrell Hatton is in the clubhouse at 10 under after a 6-under 66.

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Somehow, some way, Rory McIlroy is currently the solo leader at 11 under after Justin Rose drops another shot.

Who’s leading Sunday at the Masters you ask? Justin Rose. Rory McIlroy. Both 11 under. Nine holes left.

The final pairing is starting the second nine, and here’s where the leaderboard stands!

1. -12 Justin Rose (thru 10)
2. -11 Rory McIlroy (thru 9)
3. -10 Tyrrell Hatton (thru 17), Cameron Young (thru 9)
5. -9 Russell Henley (thru 12), Scottie Scheffler (thru 12)

Both Young and McIlroy birdied the par-4 eighth to move to 11 under and just one back of Rose.

Rosey birdies the par-4 ninth to move to 12 under.

Justin Rose is now the solo leader at 11 under after Cameron Young dropped a second consecutive shot and is now tied at 10 under with Russell Henley and Rory McIlroy — the latter of which birdied just moments after Young’s bogey.

Can Justin Rose come from behind AGAIN to win the Masters in his 21st start at Augusta National?

He would be the second oldest Masters champion at 45 years old.

The trees have BLESSED Cameron Young two days in a row — it’s crazy.

Cameron Young bogeys the par-3 sixth and drops to 11 under. Still the solo leader, but Henley and Rose are 10 under and then Scheffler and McIlroy are 9 under.

McIlroy makes a choice at the par-3 sixth that might haunt him more than the early double bogey. He was down the hill and off the green for his second shot and he chose to putt instead of chip. The putt only crested the top of the hill and just... stopped. He then two-putted from there.

McIlroy’s putter has been cold today, and that cost him.

Eagle would’ve gone CRAZY, but a birdie gets Rose within two of the lead.

Two-time Masters champ Jose Maria Olazabal ('94, ’99) hit 160 balls on the range today... after missing the cut by 5.

But, you know, why not take advantage of arguably the best practice facility in the world while you can?

10 under is getting crowded as the final pairing hits the halfway mark of the first nine. Sitting T-2 and two strokes back from Cam Young at 12 under is...

• Rory McIlroy (thru 5)
• Justin Rose (thru 7)
• Russell Henley (thru 8)

Russell Henley is now 10 under and T-2 with McIlroy after his fourth birdie of the day.

Cam Young now leads by two at 12 under after disaster strikes for Rory McIlroy at the par-3 fourth.

He hits his tee shot to the left of the bunker and then almost holes out for his second shot before three-putting. The first putt had too much juice and left, apparently, an uncomfortable distance for the second putt, which lips out. Then he tapped it in, with the damage already done for an inexplicable 5... especially after his putter was so dialed in earlier in the tournament.

It’s a birdie for Rory McIlroy on the par-4 third. Cam Young pars it, so they’re tied up at 12 under.

Elsewhere, Russell Henley is making a push after starting the day 6 under. He’s now 9 under after three birdies so far on the first nine. That ties him with Scheffler and Rose.

Young birdies the par-5 second to move to 12 under and one stroke ahead of McIlroy, who is even through two.

Burns shared the co-lead at 11 under after a birdie on No. 1, but it’s a double bogey on the par-5 second that sees him drop to 9 under.

He was back in the trees and pine straw after teeing off at No. 2 and had to hit out to the second cut after a reported unplayable lie and subsequent drop. His next shot seemed to be a mis-fire over the green and into the crowd of patrons behind it.

He dropped another shot at the par-4 third to move to 8 under.

An up-and-down birdie gets Scottie Scheffler to 9 under and just two back of the leaders. That’s two birdies in three holes for Scheffler.

Tommy Fleetwood wearing Masters merch in the final round? Crazy (and kind of sick) move from the world No. 4 as he continues being a free agent on the apparel market.

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Sam Burns joins McIlroy and Young at 11 under after a birdie at No. 1.

Go time for Rory and Cam!

Justin Rose just chipped in for birdie on No. 1 and he’s 9 under!

He’s got some ground to make up after starting his day 8 under and three back from the leaders, but Rose would be a great story to finally win this thing in his 21st start. He is one of nine players in Masters history to finish runner-up at least three times at Augusta National. The last, of course, being a year ago, when he lost in a heartbreaking playoff to his European teammate McIlroy.

Tyrrell Hatton and Jordan Spieth might not go home with a win, but they’ll take some crystal with them after these hole-out eagles!

The Masters course record is a 9-under 63. Could we see someone match Nick Price ('86) and Greg Norman ('96) with their final round? I think the greens will be too fast for that, but with the talent on this course, I’ll never say never.

Realistically, I think a 65/64 is within reach, especially with how the morning wave played.

As Scottie Scheffler and Haotong Li tee off in the fourth-to-last group — and the contenders really get going — here’s how the rest of the field has fared today.

• Keegan Bradley is already done with his round, but he shot a 6-under 66 to go from 3 over to 3 under overall. He’s currently T-23.
• Viktor Hovland working on a similar round as Bradley. He has two more holes to go but just birdied the par-3 16th. He started the day 1 over and currently sits at 5 under overall.
• Tommy Fleetwood is dropping the leaderboard fast. He started the day 4 under and is now just 1 under.
• Gary Woodland didn’t have the tournament he wanted, but he did redeem himself today, shooting a 6-under 66 to go from 6 over to even par to finish his week here.
• If you’re wondering how the LIV pairing of Sergio Garcia (see further down the updates for his early round snafu) and Jon Rahm went, Garcia finished 8 over, shooting 3 over on the day. Rahm fared better, shooting 4 under but still currently sitting T-43 at 1 over overall.

Synopsis: If the early wave has a few guys shooting rounds of 66, someone in the late wave is going to go low — likely lower than that — and one of those guys is likely to be your winner. Number to win possibly 15 under?

The last nine Masters champions have come from the final group on Sunday. If you go even further back, only five of the last 35 champions did not play in the final group in the final round.

That being said, if the chasers had a chance to cut into those stats, it seems like right now is their time. The other thing they’ve got going for them? Shooting low back to back is rare, especially at Augusta.

Cam Young is coming off a 7-under 65 yesterday. That was a career-low for him in four starts at Augusta by two strokes. Odds he does that again are low. If he does, get the green jacket ready.

Rory had his 65 on Friday. He’s lucky it was only a 73 yesterday the way he played. If he found something on the range last night, maybe the back to back stat benefits him.

Here are the last four pairings out today (ET):

Via Golf Digest senior writer Christopher Powers:

Will Rose come from behind and take what was almost his a year ago?

Per AP’s Doug Ferguson:

Will it be a first-timer or a familiar face?

Sergio Garcia’s final round is off to a bad start.

The 2017 Masters champ is playing with fellow LIV golfer Jon Rahm. After a poor drive at No. 2, he smashed the tee box and the water cooler, breaking his driver in the process, and then carried Rahm’s bag down the fairway in apology.

Garcia will, of course, be playing the rest of his round without driver.

If this sounds familiar, Garcia did something similar during the final round of The Open last year, snapping his driver after smashing it on the tee box, coincidentally, on the second hole.

Cameron Young won The Players less than a month ago. Here’s an excerpt about his win, where he shared this quote:

“My mind for the first part of this season is preparing for the Masters. So my goal is to be in contention as much as possible before that”

The drive heard around Sawgrass: Cameron Young captures the 2026 Players Championship

Cameron Young hit the shot of his life to win the 2026 Players Championship on Sunday.

It wasn’t a long putt or a hole-out; it was a 375-yard drive on TPC Sawgrass’ par-4 18th – the longest drive on that hole by any player since the ShotLink era began in 2003.

A few shots later, his playing partner Matt Fitzpatrick would bogey, setting up Young’s winning par putt.

The 18th hole has had some bite in it all week, derailing rounds left and right. Young was a victim himself, with his tee shot going in the water on Saturday. Just 24 hours later, he was tied with Fitzpatrick for the lead at 13 under, needing to avoid the same fate.

“The overarching thought is I’m going to hit the best shot of my life right here,” Young said about what he was thinking when he stood over his ball at the 18th tee box. “I don’t know if I can think of one that’s better.”

Read more.

Rory McIlroy was the only player on the range last night, as the sun set over Augusta National Golf Club. He hit two bags of balls and quite a few with driver, steering to the right of the range.

McIlroy has been benefitting from a lights out short game, but that can’t carry him to another Masters win alone. His driving distance isn’t the problem — he’s the longest player on the course, ranking No. 1 with an average drive of 337.3 yards — but he’s last in driving accuracy of those who made the cut.

He has hit the fairway only 50% of the time and only 66.67% of greens in regulation through three rounds. Even before his third round 1-over 73, McIlroy was 90th — out of 91 total players in the field — in driving accuracy. The 91st player, Davis Riley, finished dead last and missed the cut.

Augusta National/Getty Images

It’s going to be sunny and hot down the stretch, so if you’re not blessed with final round tickets and will instead be watching from your couch, count yourself lucky.

Here are the hole locations for the final round of the Masters Tournament.

You’ll see the traditional 16 pin location has returned after the tournament opted for a very different location during last year’s final round. These are basically the Sunday classics at Augusta, with good birdie chances at Nos. 7, 9, 16 and 18. The par 5s are also gettable, as always, and will probably be one of the difference makers when it comes to who puts on the green jacket tonight.

• Tee times, pairings & how to watch
• Masters cheat sheet to who can win on Sunday
• Who puts the green jacket on Rory McIlroy if he wins again?