McIlroy joins elite group with successful major title defence

Rory McIlroy etched his name into golf history on Sunday, achieving a remarkable second consecutive Masters victory to join a prestigious list of successful major title defenders. McIlroy's name is now alongside that of Brooks Koepka, who recently accomplished the feat of winning back-to-back PGA Championships, becoming the second player in the 21st century to defend two different majors, following in the footsteps of Tiger Woods. Over the weekend, McIlroy demonstrated his resilience by overcoming a six-shot halfway lead that he had squandered and a Sunday scare to claim the Green Jacket for the second year in a row. This victory marks McIlroy as the first back-to-back winner of The Masters since Woods, after navigating a dramatic final round to secure a one-shot victory at Augusta National.

McIlroy initially built a historic six-stroke halfway lead but found himself two shots behind early in the final round, with playing partner Cameron Young and then Justin Rose, the man he beat to win the previous year's playoff, both enjoying stints in the top spot. The defending champion responded with back-to-back birdies from the seventh and added successive gains from the 12th to briefly go three ahead, only for Rose and Scottie Scheffler to close the gap and set up a thrilling finish.

Unlike the previous year, when he squandered a four-shot lead before ultimately completing the career Grand Slam, McIlroy avoided a late stumble this time around, taking a two-shot lead to the 72nd hole before closing out a narrow win with a two-putt bogey. McIlroy's sixth major victory was sealed with a one-under 71, finishing on 12 under, one ahead of Scheffler, while Tyrrell Hatton's brilliant final-round 66 placed him in third spot alongside Rose, Young, and Russell Henley. Koepka made history with his second major defence in 2019 when he survived a back-nine collapse and a final-round fightback from Dustin Johnson to cling on for victory at the PGA Championship.

The American took a seven-shot lead into the final round at Bethpage Black and remained six ahead with eight holes to play, only to see his lead cut to one after four consecutive bogeys. Johnson dropped shots on two of his last three holes to close out a one-under 69 and set the target at six under, as Koepka stuttered home with a four-over 74 to secure a two-stroke win.

Koepka became the first player in nearly three decades to defend the US Open title when he triumphed by one shot from Tommy Fleetwood at Shinnecock Hills in New York. With conditions not conducive to low scoring, Koepka was tied for the lead on three over with fellow Americans Dustin Johnson, Daniel Berger, and Tony Finau after three rounds, having made scores of 75, 66, and 72. He then took command in the final round with three birdies over the first five holes and, despite a bogey at the 18th, he was able to hold off a charging Fleetwood, who shot a 63, thanks to a two-under 68. Koepka had claimed his first major title 12 months earlier at the 2017 US Open at Erin Hills with a 16-under total of 272 after rounds of 67, 70, and 68 kept him towards the top of the leaderboard before a final-round 67 saw him prevail by four from Brian Harman and Hideki Matsuyama.

It marked Koepka's fourth major win in eight starts and saw him leapfrog Johnson as world No 1 at the time, while making him 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 someone to defend the US Open when he won in 1989, becoming the first man to do so since Ben Hogan managed it 38 years previously in 1950 and 1951. Strange needed a playoff to win his first major in 1988 at Brookline, Massachusetts. Four days of play could not separate himself and Nick Faldo, as they both finished on six under, but Strange prevailed relatively comfortably over 18 holes on the Monday, finishing on level par as Faldo's troublesome round saw him end on four over.

Strange then managed to win the following year at Oak Hill in New York within the regulation four days. He led by a shot after two days but slipped away on the Saturday, only to come back stronger and finish the Sunday with an even round to win by one shot. Shortly after Strange's US Open defence, Faldo was performing the same trick at the Masters, becoming the first man to defend at Augusta in 24 years since Jack Nicklaus in 1966. Faldo was already a major winner, having won The Open in 1987, and recovered from his playoff disappointment at the US Open in 1988 to claim the Masters the following year in similar fashion.

Rather than over 18 holes, though, Faldo won a sudden-death playoff against Scott Hoch. Both men bogeyed the 10th but then Faldo made a birdie on the 11th to claim the green jacket. Yet again in 1990, Faldo was forced into a playoff at the Masters. This time it was against Raymond Floyd, who had started the final day three shots clear of the Englishman, but Faldo managed to claw it back so they both finished on 10 under.

Both men parred the 10th, but Faldo also parred the 11th for victory. Woods became the first man in a decade to defend a major when he won the first PGA Championship of the new millennium. The 1999 victory at Medinah was his second major win, having claimed the Masters in 1997, as he finished a shot clear of Sergio Garcia. Victories in 2000 at the US Open and The Open established Woods as the dominant force in golf, and he would go on to claim the PGA title again at Valhalla.

He either led or shared the lead at the end of all four days, but Bob May forced him into a three-hole playoff, which Woods claimed by a single shot after a birdie on the 16th and pars on 17 and 18, while May could only make three pars. Woods was at it again just a couple of years later as he managed to retain the green jacket, becoming the first man to do so since Faldo in 1990. Woods was five off the lead after the first day at Augusta in 2001, 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 and also meant he held all four majors at the same time. Woods could not defend any of his other titles in 2001, but he did go on to win the Masters again in 2002, finishing three shots clear of Retief Goosen.

It's that man again. Woods 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, then 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 would win it again in back-to-back years in 2006 and 2007.

Again, the first one came at Medinah as he secured a five-shot win over Shaun Micheel to finish on 18 under, tying his own record for an aggregate low score in the PGA Championship. He would win his 13th major a year later as he claimed a two-shot triumph over Woody Austin at Southern Hills.

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. Greg Norman, then 53, seemed to be heading for an unlikely victory in tough conditions as he started the final round two shots clear, but a final-day 77 saw him slip out of contention as Harrington eventually won with a score of three over, four shots clear of Ian Poulter. The list of successful major title defenders includes Jack Nicklaus, who won in 1965 and 1966, Nick Faldo, who won in 1989 and 1990, Tiger Woods, who won in 2001 and 2002, and Rory McIlroy, who won in 2025 and 2026.

Other notable defenders include Ben Hogan, who won in 1950 and 1951, Curtis Strange, who won in 1988 and 1989, Brooks Koepka, who won in 2017 and 2018, Bobby Locke, who won in 1949 and 1950, Peter Thomson, who won in 1954, 1955, and 1956, Arnold Palmer, who won in 1961 and 1962, Lee Trevino, who won in 1971 and 1972, Tom Watson, who won in 1982 and 1983, and Padraig Harrington, who won in 2007 and 2008. Will McIlroy enjoy more major success? Watch the PGA Championship, US Open, and The Open exclusively live on Sky Sports. Get Sky Sports or stream with NOW.