Rory McIlroy showed he can handle the tough times. It made him a Masters champion

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Rory McIlroy began "the best day of my golfing life” by finding a note in his locker at Augusta National before he got ready for what turned out to be one of the wildest final rounds ever at the Masters.

It was from Angel Cabrera, a thoughtful gesture to wish him good luck.

McIlroy could have taken either way. Cabrera played in the final group with him in 2011 at the Masters when McIlroy had the world at his feet and a four-shot lead and one arm in a Masters green jacket. But then he threw it away with an 80 in the final round.

“It was a nice touch and little bit ironic at the same time,” McIlroy said of the note. “It's been 14 long years. But thankfully, I got the job done.”

He did, barely, beating Justin Rose in a sudden-death playoff with a gap wedge that spun back to 3 feet for birdie on the 18th hole. Along with a lifelong dream of being a Masters champion, McIlroy is now part of golfing immortality as only the sixth player with the career Grand Slam.

But what a ride.

“I’ve been saying it until I’m blue in the face: I truly believe I’m a better player now than I was 10 years ago,” McIlroy said. “It’s so hard to stay patient. It’s so hard to keep coming back every year and trying your best and not being able to get it done.

“It’s been an emotionally draining week for a lot of reasons,” he said. “Absolutely thrilled to be sitting here at the end of the week as the last man standing.”

A final round that lasted 4 hours, 45 minutes felt like 14 years, certainly the past 11 years that have been consumed with him getting the final leg of the Grand Slam.

McIlroy began with a double bogey and lost his two-shot lead in two holes. It was a start comparable to when he played in the final group at the 2018 Masters with Patrick Reed, all of Augusta on his side, and laid an egg.

He ran off two birdies with a sublime chip and pure 5-iron, then twice made pars with amazing escapes through gaps in the Georgia pines. Yes, this is the guy who has won the FedEx Cup a record three times and reached No. 1 in the world on nine occasions.

Staked to a four-shot lead on the back nine, he hit his worst shot of the week. McIlroy had a big target from 82 yards with a lob wedge and put it into the tributary of Rae's Creek in front of the par-5 13th green for a double bogey.

This looked like the player who two-putted every green in the final round at St. Andrews, who missed two short putts in the closing stretch at Pinehurst No. 2 last summer to watch Bryson DeChambeau hoist that U.S. Open trophy.

So much brilliance. Too many blunders.

And ultimately, so much determination to keep coming back for more, to not give up on the one prize he was chasing no matter how much it hurt.

Consider his final round Sunday. He set a record for making six straight 3s to start the third round. He set another record for most double bogeys — four! — by a Masters champion.

McIlroy famously said two years ago after a runner-up finish in the U.S. Open left him gutted, “I would go through 100 Sundays like this to get my hands on another major championship.”

He won this Masters with that willingness to keep going no matter the setbacks.

McIlroy wasted a superb opening round with two careless double bogeys leaving him seven shots behind. He answered with a 66 the next day.

He went from a four-shot lead to trailing by one shot on Sunday when he answered with his best swings — the 7-iron over the pond to 6 feet on the par-5 15th, the 9-iron to a back pin on the 16th to 9 feet, the 8-iron blind shot to 2 feet on the 17th.

When he failed to convert a 5-foot birdie putt on the 18th in regulation, he was headed to a playoff with Rose, more major disappointment perhaps waiting. But then he pounded his drive, hit gap wedge to 3 feet and won the Masters.

“There was points on the back nine today I thought, ‘Have I let this slip again?’ But again, I responded with some clutch shots when I needed to,” McIlroy said. “And really proud of myself for that.”

Rose was gracious as ever after his second straight time finishing second in a major, having lost out at Royal Troon last summer.

“We saw a part of history today,” Rose said. “Someone won a career Grand Slam. It’s a momentous day in the game of golf.”

It had been 25 years since the last addition to the club, Tiger Woods. Before that it had been 34 years since Jack Nicklaus won all four.

President Donald Trump, who played golf with McIlroy in February, offered him congratulations aboard Air Force One on his way back to Washington from Florida.

“People have no idea how tough that is and he came back. He should be proud,” Trump said. “It's better for him that it happened that way because that showed real courage.”

McIlroy might beg to differ on the latter point.

“I certainly didn't make it easy,” he said.

But when it comes to McIlroy, is there any other way? He had lunch with Nicklaus the previous week and went over how to play the course.

This wasn't the Nicklaus way, or even the Tiger way. When they built leads, they played without mistake and forced players to catch them. That's not how Rory rolls.

It might have taken longer than he wanted — his 17th time playing the Masters, the 11th time with the Grand Slam at stake — but he got what he so desperately wanted. That green jacket is a size 38.

“My dreams have been made today,” he said.

He'll be hosting the Masters Club dinner next year. He has a lifetime exemption to the Masters. And he is free from a heavy burden he carried around for more than a decade.

McIlroy was in such high spirits that when asked for opening remarks in his press conference, he began with a question for the press.

“What are we all going to talk about next year?”

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

Winner Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, holds the trophy with Masters Chaiman Fred Ridley, right, at the Masters golf tournament, Sunday, April 13, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, with his wife Erica Stoll, and daughter Poppy, holds the trophy after winning the Masters golf tournament, Sunday, April 13, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, reacts after winning in a playoff against Justin Rose after the final round at the Masters golf tournament, Sunday, April 13, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, reacts after missing a putt on the 13th hole during the final round at the Masters golf tournament, Sunday, April 13, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, reacts after missing a putt on the seventh hole during the final round at the Masters golf tournament, Sunday, April 13, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, reacts after winning in a playoff against Justin Rose after the final round at the Masters golf tournament, Sunday, April 13, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, reacts after winning in a playoff against Justin Rose after the final round at the Masters golf tournament, Sunday, April 13, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, celebrates winning in a playoff against Justin Rose, of England, after the final round the Masters golf tournament, Sunday, April 13, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, celebrates winning in a playoff against Justin Rose, of England, after the final round the Masters golf tournament, Sunday, April 13, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Winner Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, holds the trophy at the Masters golf tournament, Sunday, April 13, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

NEW YORK (AP) — First-time Tony Award host Pink kicked off Sunday’s telecast by leading a crowded, exuberant version of “Lady Marmalade” and John Lithgow took home the first award for “Giant.” A blockbuster revival of “Death of a Salesman” was racking up awards even before the halfway mark.

Lithgow won best lead actor in a play as children’s author Roald Dahl in Mark Rosenblatt’s production set in 1983, when the author is facing intense backlash to his antisemitic comments. The role earned Lithgow his first Olivier Award in London and now the Tony for lead actor in a play, his third.

The win puts Lithgow in an exclusive group of actors who have won in three separate acting categories. He previously won featured actor in a play for “The Changing Room” and lead actor in a musical for “Sweet Smell of Success.”

“Two Tony bookends with 53 years between them," he said. "In those years, I have worked with hundreds of just fantastic theater artists. I’ve had dozens and dozens of ecstatic moments on the stage, but I have to tell you right now, this moment has got to be one of the best.”

A revival of “Death of a Salesman” won at least five Tonys, nearing the record for most statuettes ever won by play revival, which is seven.

Laurie Metcalf won her third Tony for playing Willy Loman’s wife opposite Nathan Lane in “Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman,” which also won for lighting, scenic design and sound design. Joe Mantello won best director for a play.

Pink started the show spinning and then dangling uncomfortably from a harness over the stage, dressed like Peter Pan. Former host Neil Patrick Harris stepped in to suggest the first-time host just be herself. “You’re Pink, Pink. You can do anything,” he told her.

After lifting Harris off the stage with her legs, Pink relented to his suggestion of being “less Pan-ish” by taking off her harness, adding a top hat and leading an extended “Lady Marmalade” that included contributions from dozens of performers including Lea Michele and Megan Thee Stallion — plus some strange, new lyrics like “Gitchie, gitchie, Laurie Metcalf” — and ended with some 170 performers on stage and crowding the aisles.

In her opening remarks, Pink, who has not yet gotten a Broadway credit, called herself theater’s second-biggest fan after her teenage daughter, Willow. “I’m not here just to steal peoples’ wigs, although I will be doing that. I’m here to celebrate the hardest-working people in show business,” she said.

“Schmigadoon!” and “Death of a Salesman” each went into the main telecast with a lead of three Tonys after a pre-show on Pluto TV hosted by Laura Benanti and Tituss Burgess that announced the more technical awards. Qween Jean became the first openly trans Tony winner ever for making the costumes for “Cats: The Jellicle Ball.” Kai Harada, nominated twice for the sound design of a musical, didn’t initially know which one he had won for until told onstage — “Ragtime.”

Twenty-four Broadway shows are hoping to nab at least one win Sunday across the 26 Tony categories, which can mean the difference between keeping the doors open and pulling down the curtain.

There will be performances from the seven best new musical and best musical revival nominees: “The Lost Boys,” “Schmigadoon!,” “Titanique,” “Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York),” “Cats: The Jellicle Ball,” “Ragtime” and “The Rocky Horror Show.”

Other performances include the original lead cast members of “The Book of Mormon” — Josh Gad, Andrew Rannells, Rory O’Malley and Nikki M. James — this year celebrating its 15th anniversary. Leslie Odom, Jr. will sing “Without You” from “Rent” during the In Memoriam section, in honor of that show’s 30th anniversary.

Another show celebrating a milestone, “Chicago” now at 30, will have a performance slot featuring Pink, as well as Queen Latifah, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Alex Newell, Adrienne Warren, Julianne Hough, Whitney Leavitt and Dylan Mulvaney. Plus, “A Chorus Line,” which last year celebrated its 50th anniversary, will get a special tribute by Rachel Zegler.

The competition for best new musical is between four very different shows: “Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York),” an opposites-attract rom-com; “The Lost Boys,” a stage adaptation of a 1987 teen movie vampire thriller; “Schmigadoon!,” which gently mocks Golden-Age Broadway shows; and “Titanique,” a camp musical comedy that reimagines the 1997 movie “Titanic.”

The two top best play nominees are “Giant,” exploring accusations of antisemitism against children's author Roald Dahl, and “Liberation,” about a consciousness-raising women’s group in the 1970s that explores inequality, gender roles and racism.

There are intriguing races in both the revival categories: A “Death of a Salesman” is competing for best play revival with a modern-set “Oedipus” led by Marc Strong and a sweet “Every Brilliant Thing” starring Daniel Radcliffe.

The best musical revival pits a new “Cats” reimagined as a “Pose”-like competition show, the sweeping American history show “Ragtime” and a rollicking, frisky “The Rocky Horror Show.”

For more coverage of the 2026 Tony Awards, visit https://apnews.com/hub/tony-awards.

Bill Rauch, left, and Zhailon Levingston accept the award for best direction of a musical for "Cats: The Jellicle Ball" during the 79th Tony Awards on Sunday, June 7, 2026, at Radio City Music Hall in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)

John Lithgow accepts the award for best performance by a leading actor in a play for "Giant" during the 79th Tony Awards on Sunday, June 7, 2026, at Radio City Music Hall in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)

Maya Rudolph, left, and Cole Escola present the award for best performance by a leading actor in a play during the 79th Tony Awards on Sunday, June 7, 2026, at Radio City Music Hall in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)

Host Pink, left, and Shoshana Bean perform during the 79th Tony Awards on Sunday, June 7, 2026, at Radio City Music Hall in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)

Bernadette Peters speaks during the 79th Tony Awards on Sunday, June 7, 2026, at Radio City Music Hall in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)

Neil Patrick Harris, left, and Host Pink perform during the 79th Tony Awards on Sunday, June 7, 2026, at Radio City Music Hall in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)

Omari Wiles, left, and Arturo Lyons accept the award for best choreography for "Cats: The Jellicle Ball" during the 79th Tony Awards on Sunday, June 7, 2026, at Radio City Music Hall in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)

Host Tituss Burgess speaks during the 79th Tony Awards on Sunday, June 7, 2026, at Radio City Music Hall in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)

Kristin Chenoweth speaks during the 79th Tony Awards on Sunday, June 7, 2026, at Radio City Music Hall in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)