April 12, 2026, 2:39 p.m. ET
2025 Masters winner Rory McIlroy entered the ultimate spherical of this yr’s match tied for the lead, regardless of capturing 1-over on Saturday, April 11. If he manages to tug forward and declare victory as soon as once more, he’ll be a part of a really unique record of golfers to have won at Augusta National two years in a row.
The Masters has been performed yearly since 1934 (with the exception of 1943 to 1945 on account of World War II). Since then, solely three golfers have ever won consecutive tournaments, and so they’re amongst the better of the greatest to ever play the sport.
Jack Nicklaus (1965-1966 champion), Nick Faldo (1989-1990), and Tiger Woods (2001-2002) have all won a minimum of three Masters titles, with Nicklaus and Woods profitable six and 5, respectively. Each of them have carved their names into Augusta’s historical past books perpetually, and McIlroy has the alternative to do the identical right this moment.
Jack Nicklaus’ back-to-back Masters titles
Although Nicklaus won the titles in 1965 and 1966, these weren’t his first Masters wins.
His first got here in 1963, at simply 23 years previous. Nicklaus completed the match at 2-under, which was adequate for the win. His greatest spherical was the second, the place he shot an unbelievable 66, three strokes higher than the subsequent greatest spherical by anybody else in the discipline.
His back-to-back wins had been way more spectacular although, with Nicklaus capturing beneath 70 in three of the 4 rounds in 1965, profitable the match by 9 strokes over the second-place finishers: Gary Player and Arnold Palmer.
In 1966, Nicklaus struggled a bit extra. After a stellar 4-under in the first spherical to steer after Day 1, he fell again a bit, and was compelled right into a playoff with Gary Brewer and Tommy Jacobs for the win. The trio performed a complete spherical on Monday, with Nicklaus capturing 2-under to win, whereas Jacobs and Brewer shot even par and 6-over respectively.
Nick Faldo’s back-to-back Masters wins
Unlike Nicklaus, Faldo’s win at the 1989 Masters was the first of his profession. Although he had beforehand won one other main, taking residence the 1987 Open Championship title.
The Englishman was compelled right into a playoff with Scott Hoch to safe the 1989 inexperienced jacket. Faldo won the playoff on the eleventh gap, a gap he’d bogeyed all 4 rounds of the match. He birdied the gap in the playoff.
Faldo’s victory in 1990 was equally suspenseful, with one other playoff wanted for the win. This time, his opponent was Raymond Floyd, one other earlier Masters winner himself. Once once more, Faldo won the match on Hole 11, recording a par this time round.
Tiger Woods’ back-to-back Masters titles
The 2001 Masters Tournament is arguably the pinnacle of Tiger Woods’ illustrious profession. With his victory that yr, Woods accomplished the “Tiger Slam”, the place Woods held all 4 main titles. He won the match at 16-under, two strokes forward of second-place David Duval.
This wasn’t the first Masters win of Woods’ profession, however the incontrovertible fact that he accomplished a Grand Slam in a single calendar yr stays one in all the best feats in the historical past of golf.
Woods’ 2002 victory was barely much less thrilling, with Vijay Singh capturing simply even par in the third spherical after capturing a 65 the day prior. Singh held a four-stroke lead over Woods heading into Saturday’s spherical, however ended the day in third-place, two strokes again of Tiger Woods and Retief Goosen. Goosen shot a 2-over 74 throughout the ultimate spherical, all however handing Woods one other inexperienced jacket.
Woods’ 12-under to win set the document for the greatest rating by a defending champion at the Masters.
