Rory McIlroy is a back-to-back Masters champion. The Northern Irishman closed with a 1-under 71 on Sunday at Augusta National to finish at 12-under 276 and beat world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler by a single shot, successfully defending the green jacket at the 90th Masters Tournament.

Scheffler made him earn it, closing with a 68 to finish alone in second at 11-under 277. Behind them, Tyrrell Hatton (66), Russell Henley (68), Justin Rose (70) and Cameron Young (73) shared third at 10-under 278. By going back-to-back, McIlroy joins Jack Nicklaus (1965, 1966), Nick Faldo (1989, 1990) and Tiger Woods (2001, 2002) as the only men to defend a Masters title. The win is his sixth major championship and his 30th PGA Tour title, at age 36.

The final round was anything but a coronation. McIlroy had built a six-shot lead through 36 holes — the largest halfway lead in Masters history — but a Saturday 73 left him sharing the 54-hole lead with Cameron Young. On Sunday he double-bogeyed the fourth and bogeyed the sixth to fall behind, and four different players held at least a share of the lead during the afternoon.

He steadied himself through Amen Corner, birdied the par-5 13th and saved par at both the 16th and 17th. At the 18th, after driving far right into the pine straw and finding a greenside bunker, he scrambled home for the bogey that sealed a one-shot win. “I can’t believe I waited 17 years for my first green jacket and I get two in a row,” McIlroy told CBS Sports afterward.

The victory came with a record payday. The 2026 purse was a tournament-record $22.5 million, with McIlroy collecting the $4.5 million winner’s share. He waited 17 years for his first green jacket; twelve months later, he owns two — and a place in the most exclusive back-to-back club in golf.