Augusta (United States) (AFP) – Rory McIlroy was hailed for his resilience and determination under pressure on Sunday after a gritty performance to win his second consecutive Masters title. Second-ranked McIlroy grinded out a one-under par 71 in the final round at Augusta National to complete a wire-to-wire triumph, defeating top-ranked Scottie Scheffler by a stroke for his sixth major title. McIlroy led in driving distance with an average of 334.3 yards but was third-worst in driving accuracy and managed a bogey at 18 after sending his tee shot over trees to the right and near the adjacent 10th fairway.
“I’ve competed against him for a long time, and you don’t win the amount of tournaments he has won out here without being pretty resilient,” Scheffler said. McIlroy set a Masters record with a six-stroke lead after 36 holes but squandered it Saturday and had to fight back from three strokes back through six holes. “Having a six-shot lead at Augusta is never easy, and losing that is obviously something difficult,” Scheffler said. “But at the end of the day when you tee it up here on Sunday, he’s tied for the lead to start the day, had a solid round and did what he needed to do in order to get it done.”
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Fellow American Cameron Young, who won last month’s Players Championship, played alongside McIlroy for three days, including in Sunday’s final pairing. “He’s obviously a great player,” Young said. “I think if you asked him he would admit that he didn’t drive it particularly straight the first two days and did some incredible scoring. So sure, yes. There is plenty to learn from him.” England’s Tyrrell Hatton, who fired a closing 66 to share third two strokes adrift, called McIlroy matching Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Nick Faldo as the only back-to-back Masters winners “unbelievable.” “He’s an incredible player and pretty cool what he’s done in the game,” Hatton said.
McIlroy was also praised by US President Donald Trump in a social media post celebrating the 36-year-old Northern Irishman’s triumph. “Congratulations to Rory McIlroy on another Great Championship, The Masters!” Trump wrote. “He performed tremendously under intense pressure, something which few people would be able to even think about doing. With each year, Rory is becoming more and more a LEGEND!” Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley placed the green jacket on McIlroy, a role usually filled by the prior year’s winner. “You continue to be a wonderful champion and we look forward to watching you compete and wearing the green jacket here at Augusta National for many years to come,” Ridley said.
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