Rory McIlroy's 2026 Masters vs. 2025: Comparing golf star's back-to-back wins at Augusta originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Rory McIlroy's triumph at Augusta National on Sunday didn't come easily. But compared to his emotions from last spring, it was certainly a less stressful experience winning the Masters this time for the star Irishman.
With the pressure to win at Augusta already alleviated and his career grand slam secured, McIlroy held on to secure a second-straight green jacket, becoming just the fourth-ever player to win consecutive Masters.
Both resulted in wins, but McIlroy's 2026 performance was far steadier than 2025, also topping his score from last year.
Here's a breakdown of how McIlroy's second Masters win compares to his emotional triumph at Augusta National in 2025.
MORE: Rory McIlroy joins list of consecutive Masters champions
Coming into the 2025 Masters, McIlroy was one of the favorites, but had a bumpy road to finally break through in the tournament.
This year, there wasn't nearly as much outside pressure on him, but he remained solid throughout the entire weekend to best some of the biggest names in the sport.
In his 2025 Masters win, McIlroy played his best rounds on Friday and Saturday, putting up scores of 66 on both days. This year, his best round was on Friday, putting up a 65 the day after opening the tournament with a 67.
In total, McIlroy shot 12-under par to lead the 2026 tournament and 11-under par to tie for first in the 2025 tournament.
After putting up 18 birdies, two eagles, five bogies and three double-bogies in 2025, McIlroy had 24 birdies, no eagles, eight bogies and two double-bogies this year.
MORE: Breaking down how Rory McIlroy won the 2026 Masters
While the result was the same, and both tournaments came down to the last few holes, there were some drastic differences to the storylines surrounding McIlroy in the last two Masters.
Coming into the 2025 Masters, McIlroy was a major storyline — he was continuing to pursue a career grand slam, needing only a win at Augusta National to complete it as one of the favorites. Through three rounds, McIlroy was in the lead with a two-stroke advantage over Bryson DeChambeau, in the driver's seat to finally pull it off.
The road there was bumpy. He started with a double-bogey in Round 4, added four birdies to recover, then had two bogies and a double-bogey in a four-hole span to lose the lead.
But McIlroy snuck back into it at the last moment, using birdies on Holes 15 and 17 to reclaim the lead. Still, he had more work to do — due to a missed short par putt on Hole 18, he was forced to go to a playoff with Justin Rose.
McIlroy converted a birdie in the playoff to beat Rose and hold on for the win — he became the first player to win the Masters while making four double bogeys, two of which came in the final round.
The moment Rory McIlroy won the Masters and completed the career Grand Slam 🔥 ⛳Goosebumps 😮💨#TheMasterspic.twitter.com/4EsT6FqLo6
This year, things were a bit different en route to the green jacket. McIlroy, without the pressure of being winless at Augusta despite his outstanding career, was among the leaders from the jump thanks to scores of 67 and 65 over the first two rounds.
Scottie Scheffler, Tyrrell Hatton, Cameron Young, Russell Henley, Sam Burns, Collin Morikawa and Rose threatened to take the lead from McIlroy on various instances, but ultimately, he played just well enough to hold on Sunday. There was no near-collapses this time — on Holes 13 and 14, where he fell apart in 2025's fourth round, McIlroy had a birdie and a par.