“I don’t make it easy” – McIlroy wins consecutive Masters titles

Dubai: Rory McIlroy became just the fourth player to win back-to-back Masters championships following his historic title defence at Augusta National.

The Northern Irishman edged out Scottie Scheffler by a single shot, with a bogey on the final hole proving enough to claim a sixth major championship and become one of only a select group alongside Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods to win The Masters Tournament in consecutive years.

"I thought it was so difficult to win last year because of trying to win The Masters and the Grand Slam, then this year I realised it's just really difficult to win The Masters," McIlroy explained.

“I obviously did the bulk of my work on Thursday and Friday. I don't think I would have believed anyone if they said to me all you have to do is shoot even-par for the weekend and you'll win.

"I definitely thought I was going to need to go out there and at least shoot a couple of under-par scores. I just had to hang in there. Yeah, just absolutely delighted to be able to get it done.”

McIlroy looked destined to run away with the Green Jacket after a historic opening two rounds.

He opened with an impressive 67 (-5) in the first round to sit near the top of the leaderboard, before producing a sensational second round, highlighted by a late surge of birdies, to reach 12-under-par at the half-way stage, giving him a record-breaking six-shot lead, the largest ever after 36 holes at Augusta.

"Having a six-shot lead going into the weekend, it would have been a bitter pill to swallow if I wasn't able to get myself over the finish line,” McIlroy stated.

A disappointing Saturday for McIlory saw American Cameron Young work his way up the pack, putting himself level with the World No.2.

Starting the third round eight shots behind the lead, Young delivered a sensational 65 (-7), one of the best rounds of the week, to surge up the leaderboard and completely erase McIlroy’s once-dominant advantage.

"I don't make it easy!" McIlroy admitted. "I used to make it easy back in my early 20s when I was winning these things by eight shots.

“It's hard to win golf tournaments, especially around here. You've had maybe a couple of runaway winners over the years, but it always seems to be a very tight finish at this golf course.

"I certainly didn't think I was home and dry after Friday night, and I knew I still needed work to do. But I still thought I would need to shoot under-par to get the job done, but thankfully I did enough."

McIlroy’s final day was a proper rollercoaster, with momentum swinging back and forth before he eventually closed out a historic victory.

He started the day tied at the top but immediately felt pressure, slipping back early after a costly double bogey at the 4th and another dropped shot soon after at the 5th.

That opened the door for the chasing pack, with Justin Rose briefly taking control and Young still also firmly in contention.

McIlroy steadied himself just before the turn, though, responding with key birdies at the 7th and 8th to drag himself back into the fight. The turning point came on the back nine where Rose faltered through Amen Corner while McIlroy produced crucial birdies at the 12th and 13th to seize control of the leaderboard.

From there, he managed the pressure down the stretch. Even after finding trouble off the tee on the 18th, he recovered well and finished with a closing bogey that was enough to secure a historic victory.

"I just can't believe I waited 17 years to get one Green Jacket and I get two in a row," McIlroy added in the Butler Cabin.

"I made four birdies and no bogeys going to the last tee knowing that I had a two-shot lead. It's nice to have that two-shot cushion instead of the one like I had last year.

"I looked at the board after I made the bogey on six and I think I went back to nine under 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, but 13 was good enough standing on the 18th tee."