How Rory McIlroy turned Augusta National from terror to dreamland after second win, who is his father, dad

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With a golden twilight setting on Augusta, McIlroy could bask in the sunshine and the adulation and celebrate a victory that saw him join Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods as back-to-back Masters champions.

During his struggles at Augusta and all those near misses, including the second back in 2022, his dad Gerry relayed the same message to him, telling McIlroy that “what’s made for you, son, won’t pass you by”. And so it has proven.

“When the ball trickled by and I … saw my mum and dad and Erica and Poppy, I thought, ‘I can’t believe I have just done it again,’” he said.

As McIlroy was being feted afterwards, he noted with some relief that the green jacket “still fits”. And it fits very well indeed.

“My parting message last year was that I can’t wait to come back next year and put the green jacket on myself. I wasn’t quite correct, because the chairman did it, but I did want to come back here and prove last year wasn’t a fluke,” he said.

As the 36-year-old considered his successful defence in Butler Cabin shortly before the jacket presentation, he touched again on the long wait that preceded his ascension to mastery.

“I just can’t believe I waited 17 years to get one green jacket, and you know, I get two in a row,” he 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 I’m just so, so happy to hang in there and get the job done.”

Having dominated on Thursday and Friday, only to stumble on Saturday, victory was far from assured in a testing final round.

Justin Rose shaped as the champion until his rally weakened on the home stretch, with the Englishman finishing in a tie for 3rd. Having led for a spurt early on, Young kept chipping away. And Scheffler was circling. That always spells danger.

But this is a different McIlroy. His talent has always been beyond doubt. It is matched now by his mental toughness, a self-belief strengthened by his victory at Augusta last year. In his mid-30s, McIlroy is a man at peace with himself.

McIlroy had made his preparation for the Masters a family affair. He has played a round with his dad Gerry last Sunday, a week ago prior to Masters finale. His wife Erica and beloved daughter Poppy was also a feature again during the week.

The family perspective, combined with the breakthrough triumph last year, surely made the stress test of the weekend slightly easier. They were all there on 18, their jubilation apparent as the celebrations began amid a crowd chanting “Rory. Rory.”

His parents had not wanted to come this year, worried about a jinx. McIlroy said he had caught himself thinking about them on a couple of occasions, but kept telling himself to keep those thoughts at bay.

But their presence will only add to the party unfolding in Augusta and back home in Holywood, Northern Ireland. As he told them; “I owe everything to you.”

“You are the most wonderful parents and if I can be half the parent to Poppy as you were for me, I will have done a good job,” he said.

THE DRAMA

When McIlroy sat down with Shane Lowry and Tyrell Hatton in the locker room on Friday night, he was a commanding leader but had a message for the pair. The Masters was still alive. He still needed to navigate Augusta twice more.

“I don’t make it easy. It is hard to win golf tournaments, especially around here. A lot can happen in a golf tournament over 36 holes … and I certainly didn’t think I was home and dried after Friday afternoon,” he said.

“There are little things that happen that make you second guess things and … it is hard to stay in the same mental space for a long period of time.”

Saturday had been difficult. Sunday was shaping the same. A double-bogey on the 4th had been a setback. So, too, the bogey on the sixth. All of a sudden he was trailing by three.

But his situation this year was significantly different to 2025, as he had noted leading into the weekend.

He was already a Masters champion. No matter what unfolded on Sunday, he would always be one. And when he nailed his drive on the seventh, it was noted he had a strut back in his step. He was chasing but his belief looked renewed.

“I never felt out of it,” he said later.

The stretch between the seventh and his tee shot on 18 was brilliant. He birdied seven and eight to reassert himself. On the 11th he made a tricky save. His tee shot on Golden Bell was the best of the day. Another birdie followed on 13. He was on.

Fox Sports expert analyst Paul Gow was watching green side on the 13th and believes this was the crucial hole for McIlroy, stating his ability to get up and down was critical in building the buffer that allowed him to hold on.

“The double-bogey on the third, that gave all the other players a chance, and they came at him,” Gow told foxsports.com.au

“Cameron Young, then there was Justin Rose who definitely came at him, and then Scottie Scheffler – you could see him creeping up the leaderboard – but McIlroy did a really good job turning in even par. He steadied the ship.

“The shot into the 12th is one of the hardest par threes in the world, so to birdie that and then follow with an amazing birdie on 13 – we were out there watching and had seen people chipping into the water there – so to run it down there and birdie that, that was the one. That was the moment.”

McIlroy has always been aggressive. Remember that remarkable shot at 15 last year? But he is more measured now and was able to succeed by playing within himself, riding out the rough patches before toughing it out in the run to glory.

Augusta always has a bite left in it. McIlroy got away with a miscalculation on the tee and also in his approach to the 15th, with his third shot kicking forward instead of spinning back into the creek. On the 17th his up-and-down was simply brilliant.

But, oh boy, Rory provides his fans with a rollercoaster ride. One hole from glory, his drive up 18 went way right. Way right.

“He made it interesting on 15 when driving it into the trees and only just got it over the water there,” Gow said.

“I think the adrenaline was pumping hard when he hit the shot into 16 and I can say I didn’t give him a chance of getting up and down there, because it is quite difficult, but he found the perfect speed coming down hill. But things could have changed. It could have been a different story for sure.”

The two shot buffer was handy, a break big enough even though he found the sand with his second. His up-and-almost-down left him with the tap in. This was a moment to cherish, a golden minute to soak in the applause of all. What a triumph.

“It felt pretty similar to last year. I made a double early on the first hole last year. I made a double on four this year, and then I played flawless golf after that,” McIlroy said.

“I made four birdies and no bogies going to the last tee knowing that I had the two shot lead. It’s nice to have that two shot cushion instead of the one like I had last year.

“I (had) looked at the board after I made the bogey on six and I think I went back to 9-under and at that point, I said, ‘Okay, if I can get to 14-under, I think I’ve got a really good chance of winning this tournament. I didn’t quite get there. I got to 13 … but 13 was good enough to be standing on the top.”

IN PURSUIT OF THE GREATS

In his biography of McIlroy named Rory, which was released leading into the Masters, journalist and author Alan Shipnuck noted the champion already rated among the top dozen golfers of all time.

The Grand Slam he completed with his triumph at Augusta a year ago had catapulted him above rivals including Phil Mickelson, Faldo and Lee Trevino. Overall he sits one win shy of that trio, who finished their career with seven major titles.

Those ahead are the greatest of the greatest headed by Nicklaus. But the 36-year-old is picking them off.

He needs another three majors to reach the top five featuring Nicklaus (18), Tiger Woods (15), Walter Hagan (11), Ben Hogan and Gary Player (9). Only Woods has won more majors than him this century.

The deeds of Justin Rose at 45, who placed in a tie for 3rd and posted his fifth Top 5 finish, demonstrate that if he can retain his fitness and hunger, further success can come his way. Those who play well at Augusta tend to continue playing well.

McIlroy’s putting coach Brad Faxon told Shipnuck for his book that the superstar’s hunger was a feature.

”Jack (Nicklaus) always said one of the hardest things to do is keep playing well after you win,” Faxon said in Rory.

“That’s not a classic definition of resilience, but it’s a function of how much a player burns to win. Are they willing to pay the price even when they’ve already achieved one dream after another?

“Rory is not slowing down. He’s hungry for more. He is a student of history, and that’s why he was so overwhelmed with the Masters win—he knows how much it means. And he wants to keep going. He wants to make more history. He knows it won’t be easy, and, honestly, I think he kind of likes it that way.”

McIlroy endured a brief lull after winning at Augusta last year. He tied for 47th in the PGA Championship and 19th in the US Open before posting a top 10 finish in the British Open. A couple of months later he delivered at home in the Irish Open.

And now he has delivered again at Augusta, with former Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley saying he is more than capable of edging further up the pecking order if he maintains his fitness and appetite for success.

“Sometimes you see so many guys climb their own personal mountains. Sometimes it’s just to be a tour player. Sometimes it’s to win a tournament. Sometimes it’s to win a major or be a Ryder Cup player. And then they slowly kind of then retrace back,” he told Live at The Masters.

“Rory McIlroy, many people would have thought that when he got the Grand Slam, that was it. That was the plateau. That was the next mountain. And for next two or three months after he did that, maybe that was the mountain.

“But he has certainly reset. He had a really strong finish to last season. He’s come out again and won another major. So who’s to say he can’t keep going on? It’s always difficult to reset when you’ve climbed a mountain and it looks like he’s done it.”

His co-analyst Brandel Chamblee touched on the sport McIlroy loves in tennis – he tuned into the Monte Carlo Masters to watch the deeds of Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz to relax before rounds this week – as a pointer to what might be possible.

“We’ve seen Jack Nicklaus win here at 46. We saw Ben Crenshaw win here for a second time in his 40s. We’ve seen Justin Rose come so close. There’s no place that turns back the clock more often and better than this one,” he said.

“People do (regress) when they get to 38, 39, 40. They lose a little bit off their fastball. But I’m not sure that’s going to be the case with Rory. He’s got nothing but better and faster with age. At some point, yes, there’ll be some physiological decline, but I’m not sure it’s coming (quickly) with Rory.

“You look (Tom) Brady. You look at what (Roger) Federer. You look at what (Rafael) Nadal did, how they kicked Father Time in the teeth. And I look at Rory and I think that’s where he is headed. He just keeps getting better and better with age.”

COULD A HATTRICK BE IN THE OFFING?

As Gow was walking out of Augusta National, his mind was ticking. Could it be done? Could Rory pull off the unprecedented?

When the Northern Irishman returns to Augusta next year, he will be chasing a hat-trick of Masters titles. And given his recent mastery, combined with his overall excellence despite the years of heartbreak, he shapes as the man to beat.

“It is an interesting one. He knows what to expect when it comes to the last nine holes of a major, the last nine holes at Augusta,” Gow said.

“It took him a while to find the ingredients to win here, to play and contend here, to now go back-to-back. And who knows? Can he now go a threepeat?

“Today confirms him as a Hall of Famer. He is currently the best player in the world. I know he is not No.1 in the world, but he is definitely the best player. Scottie Scheffler is a hell of a player, but McIlroy is the player who moves the needle.”

McIlroy was quizzed as to whether he now considers himself the best ever European. Faldo, of course, is a three-time Masters champion and the six-time major winner said he was glad to be considered in the same company as the Englishman.

But there is a clear difference to his mindset when compared to a year ago. After his triumph at Augusta, he struggled for motivation. Having come through that period, he realises that the journey did not stop when completing the Grand Slam.

“I think (it is) different. I said it at the start of the weekend that I felt like the Grand Slam was the destination and I realised it wasn’t,” he said.

“I feel like I am in a really good spot with my game and my body. But I still want to enjoy it as well. I don’t think I will go through that lull of motivation or the sort of things I was feeling last year post winning this tournament.

“Today I tie Nick, so there is obviously going to be that conversation and that debate is going to be hard, but it is a cool conversation to be a part of it. I am not putting a number on it, but I certainly don’t want to stop here.”