Tuesday, September 15, 2026

Rory McIlroy Makes More History With Back-to-Back Masters Wins

Rory McIlroy became the first golfer to win back-to-back Masters since Tiger Woods in 2001-02—further elevating his star power both on and off the course.

Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

One year after completing the career grand slam at Augusta National, Rory McIlroy on Sunday became the first golfer to win back-to-back Masters since Tiger Woods in 2001-02, further elevating the Northern Irishman’s legacy and star power both on and off the course.

McIlroy, 36, earns a Masters-record $4.5 million winner’s check, increasing his career earnings to $114.69 million. That’s now just $6.3 million behind all-time leader Tiger Woods ($120.99 million). Scottie Scheffler, who finished second at the Masters, is third all-time with $105.69 million.

The second Masters title marks McIlroy’s sixth major championship, which is tied for the 12th most ever alongside golfing legends Phil Mickelson, Nick Faldo, and Lee Trevino. It’s McIlroy’s 30th career PGA Tour victory; that ties him with Harry Cooper and Horton Smith for 16th all-time.

Faldo (1989-90) and Jack Nicklaus (1965-66) are the only other players besides McIlroy and Woods to win consecutive Masters. 

Rory’s Kingdom

Since becoming just the sixth golfer to complete the career grand slam, McIlroy has been staying plenty busy.

In September, he won the Irish Open and led Europe to a rare away Ryder Cup victory at Bethpage Black in New York. 

In November, McIlroy won his seventh Race to Dubai title, the season-long points race on the DP World Tour. That was part of his booming world tour, which included playing tournaments in India and Australia.

This winter, McIlroy played in the second season of TGL—the indoor team golf league he co-founded with Woods—taking his team, Boston Common Golf, to its first playoff appearance.

McIlroy has long-term equipment and apparel deals with TaylorMade and Nike, respectively. In December, he signed a contract with Golfpass, a digital tee time service and golf content company that McIlroy co-founded in 2019. 

Through that extension, McIlroy and Golfpass co-owner Versant also launched Firethorne Productions, a new studio that was behind his new Amazon Prime Video documentary, Rory McIlroy: The Masters Wait.

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