As many know, the Masters is the first major of each Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) season. It holds countless historic memories, being the only major held at the same course every year (Augusta National) since 1934, when it was founded by Bobby Jones. Heading into this year’s Masters, the favorites to win the tournament included Scottie Scheffler (two-time Masters champion and world number one), Rory McIlroy (reigning Masters champion and six-time major winner), Bryson DeChambeau (two-time U.S. Open champion and coming off two consecutive tournament wins) and Jon Rahm (two-time major winner and Masters champion). A common factor that all these players shared prior to the tournament was experience at Augusta, with all having finished fifth or better.
Heading into the first round, the course seemed to be playing even faster and firmer than in previous years. In this round, only sixteen of the field of ninety-one players broke par, and only five shot in the sixties. After the first round concluded, reigning champion Rory McIlroy, accompanied by Sam Burns, stood atop the leaderboard at five under par. Two back, a group of three players, including past champion Patrick Reed, sat at three under par in a tie for third.
Before the second round, Augusta made the decision to water the course, creating softer conditions and allowing lower scores than the previous day. McIlroy took full advantage of these conditions, shooting a seven-under-par (65). He completed his final seven holes with six birdies, including a pitch-in on seventeen following an errant tee shot that found its way into the woods. This spectacular round placed McIlroy at twelve under par for the tournament, leading second place by six strokes, with Sam Burns and Patrick Reed at six under par. Surprisingly, one of the tournament favorites, Bryson DeChambeau, missed the cut after a triple bogey on the eighteenth hole.
As Saturday approached, nineteen golfers sat at better than two under par and within striking distance of McIlroy. During this round, the course played similarly to Friday, allowing players to more accurately gauge the speed and receptiveness of the greens. Despite McIlroy’s incredible play so far, he began to show signs of weakness, as he was unable to control his driver to the standard seen in the past. He shot a one-over-par 73, causing a dramatic shift in the leaderboard and allowing the rest of the field to close the gap. Cameron Young, who had previously been four under par, shot seven under on Saturday, tying McIlroy for the lead at eleven under par for the tournament. Many other players also took advantage of McIlroy’s poor round, including Scottie Scheffler, who also shot seven under par, putting himself in a prime position heading into Sunday.
Upon the arrival of Sunday at Augusta, the stage was set for a competitive final round, with eleven players within five strokes of the lead. As players teed off, the leaderboard began to shift. Through the first nine holes, Justin Rose, a three-time runner-up at Augusta, had climbed to lead the tournament by two strokes at thirteen under par, while many other players near the top of the leaderboard struggled. However, this lead was short-lived, as Rose made bogeys on holes eleven, twelve and seventeen. As Rose began to fall down the leaderboard and McIlroy regained the lead, Scheffler birdied holes fifteen and sixteen. Ultimately, he along with Cameron Young, Russell Henley, Justin Rose, Tyrrell Hatton and Sam Burns, failed to make the necessary birdies to challenge McIlroy in the closing holes of the tournament, crowning McIlroy the 2026 Masters champion.