AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Scottie Scheffler conjured a moment of brilliance on the 15th hole and nearly re-created a classic Masters moment on No. 17. He played the final two rounds without a single bogey.
It wasn't quite enough.
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Haotong Li, of China, greets Scottie Scheffler after their final round of the Masters golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club, Sunday, April 12, 2026, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Scottie Scheffler finishes his final round of the Masters golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club, Sunday, April 12, 2026, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Scottie Scheffler watches his shot on the 15th hole during the final round of the Masters golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club, Sunday, April 12, 2026, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Scottie Scheffler finishes his final round of the Masters golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club, Sunday, April 12, 2026, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Scheffler shot a 4-under 68 on Sunday at Augusta National and finished one stroke behind winner Rory McIlroy. Now McIlroy and Scheffler are even with two Masters titles each. Scheffler was trying to pull off what would have been an unprecedented comeback from 12 strokes down after 36 holes.
“I always felt like I was a couple shots out of it, but I was ahead of those guys (on the course), so I felt like if I could make a few birdies and post a score I’d be in a good spot,” Scheffler said. “Just wasn’t able to make enough birdies on the back.”
Scheffler shot a 65 on Saturday to pull within four, and he was in the mix during the final round, becoming the first player since World War II to play the last two rounds of the Masters without a bogey.
What he needed, however, was at least one more birdie. After making one on No. 1 and another on No. 3, a streak of 11 straight pars stalled his progress at a time when he was very much within striking distance.
On the par-5 15th, his tee shot went to the right into the trees, and his second shot caromed off one of them, leaving him still 189 yards out. He had a gap between two tree trunks but needed to clear water to reach the green.
He somehow pulled that off and rolled in the putt for a birdie to move to 10 under. Problem was, at around the same moment, McIlroy birdied No. 13 to go to 13 under. Then Scheffler answered with a birdie on the par-3 16th to pull within two.
And that's where it stayed until the 18th, when McIlroy's bogey was enough to win him the tournament.
Scheffler's last good chance to apply pressure on McIlroy came when he stood over an 18-foot putt for birdie on No. 17. It was a similar putt to the one Jack Nicklaus made on his way to a sixth Masters title 40 years ago.
For Scheffler, the putt stayed just to the left of the hole.
“The putt I hit on 17 I really thought I made,” he said. “The shot into 18 I hit it exactly how I wanted to. I think we just lost the wind, and it got right up to the edge and came all the way back down. Would’ve been nice to give myself an opportunity there on 18, but I always talk about how I try to be focused on controlling the things that I can control and yesterday and today was some of the best that I’ve felt like I’ve been mentally all year.”
There were other missed opportunities. The par-4 seventh was yielding birdies left and right — and even a couple of eagles — on Sunday. But after an errant tee shot, Scheffler's approach missed the green to the left.
He went over the green from 95 yards on the par-5 eighth, costing himself another good birdie chance.
Scheffler's son Remy was born late last month, and he hadn't played since The Players Championship in the middle of March. This was his first top-five finish since Pebble Beach in mid-February.
Scheffler has won four major titles and now has three runner-up finishes. He tied for second at the 2022 U.S. Open and 2023 PGA Championship. This time he ended up alone in second, proving to be the biggest threat to McIlroy on a crowded leaderboard.
Scheffler and McIlroy have won four of the last five majors, with McIlroy winning the 2025 and 2026 Masters and Scheffler taking the PGA Championship and British Open last year. They are ranked 1-2 in the world, making this the first major since the 2002 U.S. Open (Tiger Woods over Phil Mickelson) in which the top two players in the ranking were the top two finishers in some order.
Scheffler ultimately put himself in too big of a hole when he shot 70 in the first round and 74 in the second. And he didn't take advantage of the two par 5s on the back nine — Nos. 13 and 15. His remarkable up-and-down on the 15th hole Sunday was his only birdie on either of those holes, and he bogeyed both Friday.
McIlroy, meanwhile, played those holes in 6 under over the four days. And he had the fortitude to win Sunday after he lost a six-stroke lead Saturday.
“I’ve competed against him for a long time, and you don’t win the amount of tournaments that he’s won out here without being pretty resilient,” Scheffler said. “Having a six-shot lead at Augusta is never easy, and losing that is obviously something difficult. But at the end of the day when you tee it up here on Sunday, he’s tied for the lead to start the day and had a solid round and did what he needed to do.”
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Haotong Li, of China, greets Scottie Scheffler after their final round of the Masters golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club, Sunday, April 12, 2026, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Scottie Scheffler finishes his final round of the Masters golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club, Sunday, April 12, 2026, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Scottie Scheffler watches his shot on the 15th hole during the final round of the Masters golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club, Sunday, April 12, 2026, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Scottie Scheffler finishes his final round of the Masters golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club, Sunday, April 12, 2026, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Rory McIlroy joined more elite company Sunday at the Masters when he pulled away with a pair of birdies around Amen Corner and, as usual, saved a little drama for the end before taking his place in Augusta National history as only the fourth back-to-back champion.
In a final round where three players had a two-shot lead, McIlroy seized control for good with a bold shot over Rae’s Creek to 7 feet for birdie on the par-3 12th. Then he blistered a 350-yard drive on the par-5 13th that set up another birdie to move three shots ahead.
There were a few dicey moments, including a shot over the par-3 16th green that required him to use the slope to get in close for par, having to get up-and-down for par on the 17th and a wild drive on the 18th that wound up closer to the 10th fairway.
He tapped in for bogey and a 1-under 71 for a one-shot victory over Scottie Scheffler.
A year ago, his playoff victory over Justin Rose made McIlroy only the sixth player with the career Grand Slam. With another green jacket, McIlroy joined Tiger Woods, Nick Faldo and Jack Nicklaus as the only repeat winners of the Masters.
“I just can’t believe I waited 17 years to get one green jacket, and I get two in a row,” McIlroy said. “I think all of my perseverance at this golf tournament over the years has really started to pay off. It was a tough weekend. I did the bulk of my work on Thursday and Friday.
“But just so, so happy to hang in there and get the job done.”
McIlroy stood tall when he tapped in the final putt to finish at 12-under 276. There was no relief like last year of going 17 years trying to win the Masters. This was pure joy. And for the first time since 2002 when Woods went back-to-back, it was up to the Augusta National chairman, Fred Ridley, to help him into the green jacket.
“It still fits, which is nice,” McIlroy said at the trophy presentation.
President Donald Trump congratulated McIlroy on social media as he flew back to Washington from Florida.
“With each year, Rory is becoming more and more a LEGEND!” Trump wrote. McIlroy’s next tournament is likely to be the Cadillac Championship in two weeks at Trump Doral outside Miami.
It was more heartache for Rose, and frustration for the others who had a chance.
Rose had a two-shot lead that evaporated around Amen Corner with two bogeys and a three-putt par. He couldn't make up enough ground the rest of the way and had to settle for a third close call at the Masters.
Cameron Young lost his two-shot lead much earlier with a long three-putt bogey on the par-3 sixth and taking bogey on the next hole when he hit wedge from the fairway into a bunker. One shot behind going to the back nine, Young closed with nine straight pars.
“There is no negative to take away other than obviously I would’ve loved a different result,” Young said. “I pretty much had a birdie chance on every hole and didn’t make any. That’s how it goes sometimes.”
As for Scheffler, the world's No. 1 player was in position to shatter the Masters record with the largest 36-hole comeback in history. He was 12 behind going into the weekend. He was two shots behind as he approached the turn. But he ran off 11 straight pars — that wasn't going to cut it during a final round with accessible pins to create excitement.
Scheffler had to settle for his third runner-up finish in the majors to go along with four titles. His 65-68 weekend made him the first player since 1942 to go bogey-free on the weekend at Augusta.
“I put up a good fight in order to give myself a chance,” Scheffler said.
Rose, at age 45 trying to become the second-oldest Masters champion behind Jack Nicklaus (46) in 1986, made it feel as though this was going to be his time. He made a most improbable birdie with a shot out of the trees to a foot on the seventh. That was the start of three straight birdies to close out the front nine and give him the lead.
But his approach to the 11th was well to the right and he failed to save par. His tee shot on the 12th was long, and his delicate chip didn't reach the green, leading to another bogey. And then his 30-foot eagle putt on the par-5 13th ran 8 feet by the hole and he missed the birdie putt.
“Chance that got away,” Rose said. “I was by no means free and clear and was nowhere kind of close to having the job done, but I was right in position. ... I was really in control. And the mentality was to run through the finish line, not just try and get it done.
“I was playing great, but just momentum shifted for me around the Amen Corner.”
That's where McIlroy thrived. No shot at Augusta is more terrifying that the par-3 12th with the deceptive, swirling wind. McIlroy said he thought back to a practice round at his first Masters in 2009 when Tom Watson told him to wait for the right wind and hit.
His three-quarter 9-iron aimed at the middle bunker drifted more to the right that he imagined, but it turned out perfect, 7 feet away, closer than anyone all day.
“That was a really good golf shot at the right time,” he said. “Huge shot in the tournament.”
And the on the 13th, where he had put his drives into the trees right of the fairway the first three days, he came up with one of his best swings of the week, leaving him an 8-iron to the green.
At the end it was a now familiar champion, McIlroy, once tormented by his chase for the green jacket and now a two-time winner whose love for the Masters only deepens.
His sixth major puts him in a group that includes Faldo. One more and he can tie Harry Vardon for the most majors by a European.
McIlroy was so ecstatic a year ago that he asked the media when it was over, “What are we going to talk about next year?” Now the topic is easy. No one has ever won three in a row.
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, holds the trophy after winning the Masters golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club, Sunday, April 12, 2026, in Augusta, Ga.(AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, celebrates after winning the Masters golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club, Sunday, April 12, 2026, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, reacts before winning the Masters golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club, Sunday, April 12, 2026, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, celebrates after winning the Masters golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club, Sunday, April 12, 2026, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Justin Rose, of England, reacts after missing a putt on the 16th hole during the final round of the Masters golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club, Sunday, April 12, 2026, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, walks to green on the seventh hole during the final round of the Masters golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club, Sunday, April 12, 2026, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, reacts after missing a putt on the 15th hole during the final round of the Masters golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club, Sunday, April 12, 2026, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, watches his tee shot on the sixth hole during the final round of the Masters golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club, Sunday, April 12, 2026, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Scottie Scheffler hits his tee shot on the 12th hole during the final round of the Masters golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club, Sunday, April 12, 2026, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Tyrrell Hatton, of England, watches his tee shot on the sixth hole during the final round of the Masters golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club, Sunday, April 12, 2026, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Justin Rose, of England, waves after his putt on the eighth hole during the final round of the Masters golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club, Sunday, April 12, 2026, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Cameron Young hits from the fairway on the first hole during the final round of the Masters golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club, Sunday, April 12, 2026, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, walks to green on the first hole during the final round of the Masters golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club, Sunday, April 12, 2026, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Cameron Young waves after his putt on the 13th hole during the third round of the Masters golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club, Saturday, April 11, 2026, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, reacts after missing a putt on the 18th hole during the third round of the Masters golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club, Saturday, April 11, 2026, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
