Augusta Masters: McIlroy wins his second consecutive title and joins the great legends of golf

Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy won his second consecutive green jacket at the iconic Augusta Masters on Sunday, a feat only achieved by a select few of golf's greatest legends. The European star edged world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler of the United States by a single stroke in a final showdown between the top favorites, capping a tournament full of dramatic twists.

A year earlier, McIlroy had achieved another historic triumph at the Masters, the only one of the four Grand Slam trophies then missing from his collection. The Northern Irishman thus sat at the table of the other five golfers who completed the so-called Career Grand Slam: Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Gene Sarazen and Ben Hogan.

This Sunday he joined an even more exclusive club, that of the champions who revalidated the Masters title, of which only the mythical Nicklaus (1965 and 1966), Nick Faldo (1989 and 1990) and Tiger (2001 and 2002) were part.

At the age of 36, McIlroy continues to carve out his own niche among the greats of history, with a record that now boasts six Major titles and 30 in total in his career. At Augusta National (state of Georgia), tradition dictates that the green jacket is passed from one champion to the next, so McIlroy had to be presented with it by club president Fred Ridley.

"Seventeen years to get a green jacket and now I get two in a row"

"It still fits me," joked the Northern Irishman in remarks picked up by AFP on receiving the most recognizable garment in world sport. "I wanted to come back and prove that last year wasn't a fluke."

"I can't believe that I had to wait 17 years to get a green jacket and now I get two in a row," he acknowledged. "I think all my perseverance in this tournament over the years has really started to pay off."

McIlroy completed the double in a final round in which, after starting at the top of the leaderboard, he came within two strokes behind two different provisional leaders, Cameron Young and Justin Rose. The Northern Irishman had already dilapidated a record six-shot lead entering the decisive weekend, evoking the many debacles he experienced in his decade-long drought of major titles.

Freed of those traumas now, McIlroy held firm on Sunday after another troubling start to his round at an Augusta National that was as steady and fast as ever. On hole four he missed two putts, from three and 0.6 yards, to make a costly double bogey that left him two strokes behind Young.

McIlroy rallied with two birdies in a row that then kept him in contention with England's Justin Rose, whom he defeated last year in a dramatic playoff. Triple runner-up at Augusta, Rose ceded the top spot to him with two consecutive bogeys and the last threat to McIlroy became Scottie Scheffler, with whom the Northern Irishman has shared four of the last five major trophies in contention.

Spectacular comeback by Scheffler that fell just short

The world number one was not only chasing his third green jacket but also completing the greatest comeback in a Masters weekend, after he teed off Saturday12 strokes behind McIlroy.

"Going into the day I knew I would have to do something special if I wanted to catch him and I came close, but I was just a few strokes short here and there," Scheffler lamented. The American missed by inches a key birdie on the 16th hole that would have put McIlroy under extreme pressure.

The Northern Irishman reached the 18th with a two-shot cushion but the ghosts of the past loomed when he sent his tee shot off the fairway. He then kept his composure to escape the bunker and complete the victory with a shout of relief amidst the jubilation of the crowd.

Embarrassing display and a wake-up call for Sergio Garcia

Before this showdown, Spain’s Sergio Garcia provided one of the tournament’s defining moments by snapping his driver after his tee shot on the second hole.

Garcia watched as the ball headed straight for the bunker and, out of sheer frustration, first hit the club several times against the course, damaging the turf, and then destroyed it by smashing it into a green cooler.

"Obviously I'm not very proud of it, but sometimes it happens," he later said of his reaction, which saw him receive a stern warning from organizers.