McIlroy Enters Elite Group with Consecutive Major Title Defences

Rory McIlroy made history on Sunday by achieving a remarkable second consecutive Masters victory, joining a prestigious group of golfers who have successfully defended their major titles. This extraordinary feat was last accomplished by Brooks Koepka, who won back-to-back PGA Championships, making him the second player in the 21st century, after Tiger Woods, to defend two different majors. McIlroy overcame a dramatic Sunday, which included squandering a six-shot halfway lead, to claim his second Green Jacket in a row.

He became the first player to win the Masters consecutively since Woods. McIlroy built a historic six-stroke lead at the halfway point but found himself two shots behind early in the final round.

However, he responded with back-to-back birdies and briefly took a three-shot lead before Rose and Scottie Scheffler closed the gap, setting up a thrilling finish. McIlroy avoided a repeat of his late stumble from the previous year, taking a two-shot lead into the final hole and securing a narrow win with a two-putt bogey. The world No 2 finished with a one-under 71, ending on 12 under, one shot ahead of Scheffler. Koepka made history in 2019 with his second major defence, surviving a back-nine collapse and a final-round fightback from Dustin Johnson to win the PGA Championship.

He became the first player in nearly three decades to defend the US Open title, winning by one shot from Tommy Fleetwood at Shinnecock Hills. Koepka's first major title was the 2017 US Open, which he won with a 16-under total of 272. He leapfrogged Johnson as world No 1 and became the first player to win both the US Open and PGA Championship in back-to-back years.

Curtis Strange ended an even longer wait for a US Open title defence in 1989, becoming the first man to do so since Ben Hogan in 1950 and 1951. Strange won his first major in 1988 at Brookline, Massachusetts, in a playoff against Nick Faldo. He then won the US Open the following year at Oak Hill in New York within the regulation four days. Shortly after Strange's US Open defence, Faldo became the first man to defend the Masters in 24 years, since Jack Nicklaus in 1966.

Faldo won The Open in 1987 and recovered from his playoff disappointment at the US Open in 1988 to claim the Masters the following year. Woods became the first man in a decade to defend a major when he won the first PGA Championship of the new millennium in 1999. He finished a shot clear of Sergio Garcia and established himself as the dominant force in golf. Woods retained his PGA title in 2000 and won the US Open and The Open, claiming the PGA title again at Valhalla.

He was at it again in 2001, becoming the first man to retain the Green Jacket since Faldo in 1990. Woods was five shots off the lead after the first day at Augusta but came back strongly to lead by a shot heading into the final day.

A 68 on the Sunday meant he saw off the challenge of David Duval to finish on 16 under. Woods could not defend any of his other titles in 2001 but did win the Masters again in 2002, finishing three shots clear of Retief Goosen.

He became the first man in 23 years, since Tom Watson in 1983, to defend The Open when he won in 2006. Woods lifted the Claret Jug for the second time in his career on the Old Course at St Andrews in 2005 with a comfortable five-shot win over Colin Montgomerie. He retained his title at the Royal Liverpool Golf Club a year later, his third and most recent Open win.

Six years after retaining his PGA title in 2000, Woods won it again in back-to-back years in 2006 and 2007. Harrington became the first man to defend a major, aside from Woods, in 18 years as he won The Open in 2007 and 2008. The Irishman came from six shots behind Sergio Garcia on the final day at Carnoustie to force a four-hole playoff, which he won with an even score after Garcia bogeyed the first. Harrington would claim victory a year later at Royal Birkdale as well.

The list of players who have defended their major titles includes Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo, Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Ben Hogan, Curtis Strange, Brooks Koepka, Bobby Locke, Peter Thomson, Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino, Tom Watson, and Padraig Harrington.