By Daniel Noble
RORY McIlroy further cemented his name as a golfing great on Sunday, becoming only the fourth player to claim consecutive Masters titles.
A year on from completing the career grand slam with his first acquisition of the fabled green jacket, joining the exclusive group of Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods in doing so, Holywood’s favourite son ended a 24-year wait for a back-to-back champion at Augusta National.
Now, he becomes a member of yet another elite club, following in the footsteps of Nicklaus, Woods and Nick Faldo by successfully defending his triumph at the sport’s premier competition.
Not only has McIlroy scooped the famous Masters, PGA Championship, US Open and The Open quartet, while tasting repeat glory at the former, he has now also taken his tally of major victories to six.
That takes him level with Faldo for the most major championships won by a European golfer in the modern era, surpassing the legendary Seve Ballesteros and sitting just
one behind Jersey’s Harry Vardon, who won his seven between 1896 and 1914.
McIlroy had to overcome fierce competition to achieve these feats too, avoiding a repeat of last year’s stressful playoff route to victory, but having to fend off the late charge of world number one Scottie Scheffler.
McIlroy appeared to be a red-hot favourite throughout the four days of action, but far from ideal performances on Saturday and parts of Sunday left the door ajar. Scheffler, a two-time winner himself, posted a four-under round on the final day, building on his remarkable score of seven under on Saturday, to ramp up the pressure.
The American, who teed off earlier in the day, left himself two shots behind after his final hole of the week – enough to make McIlroy sweat, despite his fate remaining in his own hands.
That meant the 36-year-old could record a one-over score of five on the par-four 18th to take the glory, and so he did, ending with an overall score of 12 under – one ahead of runner-up Scheffler and two clear of the chasing pack.
The decisive putt did not quite spark the same reaction as last year, when McIlroy dropped to his knees, buried his head and let his emotion pour out of him, but it did spark jubilation amongst the onlookers, both on course in Georgia and back where it all started, Holywood Golf Club.
Instead, spectators bore witness to a now-famous ‘Rory roar’ and instant celebrations with lifelong friend and caddy Harry Diamond.
It now feels as though McIlroy has completed the sport, having won each and every major, amongst other accolades, including multiple Ryder Cups, and gone back-to-back at Augusta.
