Rory McIlroy's Major Victories: A Look Back at His Six Titles

Rory McIlroy has made history with his record-breaking major victories, achieving a career Grand Slam and back-to-back wins at The Masters. We reflect on his six major titles to date... McIlroy's maiden major win came in 2011 at Congressional Country Club, where he dominated the field with a remarkable display, firing rounds of 65 and 66 to take the largest 36-hole lead in US Open history. He went on to shatter Tiger Woods' tournament scoring record, finishing the week on 16 under and securing an eight-shot victory over Jason Day, which remains the largest winning margin in the tournament's history as of 2025. This triumph was followed by another record-breaking win at Kiawah Island in 2012, helping him regain the top spot in the world rankings. McIlroy overcame a challenging start to take a three-stroke lead into the final round, before birdying three of his first seven holes and adding three more birdies over the last seven holes to seal a stunning eight-shot victory, breaking Jack Nicklaus' record for the largest winning margin in PGA Championship history. McIlroy has not always been known for his fast starts at majors, but his bogey-free opening round at Royal Liverpool in 2014 set the tone for a wire-to-wire victory. A second-round 66 gave him a four-shot cushion, and he extended his lead with a third-round 68, including two eagles in his last three holes, to take a six-shot lead into the final day. Despite a brief challenge from Sergio Garcia, McIlroy shrugged off any potential final-round collapse and extended his lead with a birdie at the 16th, securing a two-shot win over Garcia and Rickie Fowler to claim the Claret Jug. That summer, McIlroy added a WGC-Bridgestone Invitational title to his win at The Open before securing his fourth major success with a narrow win at Valhalla Golf Club. He regained the world No 1 spot the previous week and took a one-shot lead into the final round, following scores of 66 and 67, before birdying three of the last four holes in a third-round 67. A slow start to the final day had left Phil Mickelson and Fowler ahead of McIlroy, but he launched a back-nine fightback with a stunning eagle at the par-five 10th and a birdie at the par-four 13th. McIlroy birdied the 17th to take a two-shot lead over Mickelson to the final hole, where a two-putt par - in near darkness due to fading light - was enough to secure the Wanamaker Trophy for a second time. It took 11 years for McIlroy to add to his major tally, as he closed out a memorable, maiden Masters triumph in 2025 via a rollercoaster final round and dramatic play-off at Augusta National. McIlroy double-bogeyed the opening hole on Sunday to immediately lose his two-shot 54-hole lead to Bryson DeChambeau, then took control of the tournament before dropping four shots - including a double-bogey at the par-five 13 - in a four-hole stretch. A remarkable approach shot in the trees set up a two-putt birdie for McIlroy at the 15th, and another birdie at the 17th gave him a one-shot buffer heading to the 72nd hole, where he missed a five-foot putt for par and slipped into a play-off against Justin Rose. McIlroy made amends in the play-off by setting up a close-range birdie chance, which he converted to spark emotional celebrations and make him just the sixth player to complete the men's career Grand Slam. McIlroy joined an elite group of golfers, including Woods, Nicklaus, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, and Gene Sarazen, who have won all four majors in their careers. His Masters victory fulfilled his childhood dream and cemented his place as one of golf's all-time greats. After an 11-year wait for a fifth major win, and 16 years of playing at The Masters without success, McIlroy went back-to-back in 2026 - just the fourth player to do so, and first since Woods in 2001 and '02. At the halfway stage of this year's tournament, it looked like the now unburdened defending champion was going to cruise to a convincing victory more of the vintage of his early major successes. McIlroy took a six-shot lead into the weekend, the biggest 36-hole lead in Masters history, as he moved to 12 under with a magnificent second-round 65 following on from his opening 67. However, that advantage had evaporated by Saturday evening, as a one-over 73 allowed the chasing pack to close in, with Cameron Young tying for the lead going into Sunday. A double-bogey at the fourth, and another dropped shot at six saw him lose his grip on the lead, but McIlroy responded with back-to-back birdies at seven and eight, while successive gains again at 12 and 13 saw him perched at the top once more. Despite Rose and world No 1 Scottie Scheffler still being in with a sniff, McIlroy avoided a repeat of another play-off as he closed out a narrow one-shot win with a two-putt bogey at 18. Will McIlroy enjoy more major success? Watch The Masters, PGA Championship, US Open, and The Open exclusively live on Sky Sports. Get Sky Sports or stream with NOW.