Rory McIlroy reflected on his record-breaking Masters win, admitting it would have been devastating to let a historic title defense slip away. McIlroy became the fourth player to win back-to-back Masters titles, following his dramatic playoff victory over Justin Rose last year.
Despite building a six-shot lead halfway through, McIlroy fell behind on the final day but responded with four birdies to secure his sixth major title. 'I thought it was so difficult to win last year, but this year I realized it's just really difficult to win The Masters,' McIlroy said. 'I tried to convince myself it was both.' McIlroy joined Jack Nicklaus, Sir Nick Faldo, and Tiger Woods as the only players to win The Masters in successive years. He expressed his delight at getting the job done, saying, 'I don't make it easy!
I used to make it easy back in my early 20s when I was winning these things by eight shots.' McIlroy completed the third leg of the Grand Slam in 2014 but had 10 unsuccessful attempts to claim The Masters before his recent victories.