.jpg)
1 hour ago
4
The Masters is considered the hardest golf tournament of the year, likely because it is always held at Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia.
It is the lone tournament that doesn't change location, and is the only time throughout the golf calendar that participants get to play the course. The Masters was first held in 1934, and since then, there have been 57 individual winners of the tournament. Only 19 golfers have managed to win the tournament multiple times, like Jack Nicklaus, who has the record with six Green Jackets to his name.
Of the 19 that have multiple victories in Augusta, only four have pulled off the feat in consecutive years.
Here is more on the golfers who have managed to win back-to-back titles at the Masters.
MORE: How much money does the 2026 Masters winner make?
Who was the last golfer to repeat as Masters champion?
McIlroy became the first repeat winner of the Masters since 2002. That year, Tiger Woods pulled off the feat, and 24 years later, it is McIlroy.
The Northern Irishman won the 2025 Masters, completing his career grand slam. In 2026, McIlroy finished the first day tied for the lead, but on Friday took a six-stroke lead. It was the largest lead heading into Masters weekend in tournament history. He watched in the third round as his lead disappeared and McIlroy found himself staring at the wrong side of history.
McIlroy used a solid final round to pull off the comeback win and now enters an elite club of consecutive Masters winners.
MORE: Complete list of Masters winners by year
How did Tiger Woods defend his Green Jacket in 2002?
Woods won his second Masters when he was 25 years old. The win was impressive, already being that he won the tournament, but it also capped off the famous "Tiger Slam." At the time of his Masters win in 2001, Woods was the reigning winner of all four golf majors after winning the 2000 Open Championship, U.S. Open and 2000 PGA Championship.
He won the tournament with a total score of 272, which was good enough for 16-under. Woods beat David Duval by two strokes and Phil Mickelson by three.
After completing the Tiger Slam with the 2001 victory in Augusta, he finished his next three majors outside of the top-10 in each tournament. Woods was working through the epitome of a Super Bowl slump, at least at majors, and somehow used the 2002 Masters as the place to get right.
He won that year's tournament with a total score of 276, finishing 12-under. He finished three strokes ahead of Retief Goosen and four strokes ahead of Mickelson. Woods came into the day with just a one-stroke lead over Goosen. He shot a +1 on the day, while Woods finished -1 in the final round to earn his second consecutive green jacket.
MORE: Why Augusta National always hosts the Masters
Back-to-back Masters champions
Only three golfers have managed to win The Masters in back-to-back years.
- Jack Nicklaus 1965, 1966
- Nick Faldo 1989 1990
- Tiger Woods 2001, 2002
- Rory McIlroy 2025, 2026
Nicklaus was the first golfer to ever win consecutive Masters tournaments. Similar to Woods, his streak came with his second and third wins in Augusta. Nicklaus earned his first green jacket in 1963 and then finished tied for second in 1964. Had he been able to beat Arnold Palmer that year, Nicklaus would have won four green jackets in a row. Instead, Palmer won the 1964 Masters with an impressive 12-under, while Nicklaus and Dave Marr finished tied at 6-under.
Faldo first played in the Masters Tournament in 1979, and he finished 40th. 10 years later, in his sixth appearance at the major, he won the event. Faldo and Scott Hoch both finished regulation at 5-under. They went to a playoff, and Hoch had multiple chances to win the tournament on the first playoff hole, but couldn't come through, and they tied. On the second playoff hole, Faldo drained a long birdie putt to secure the championship.
His second consecutive Masters championship also went to a playoff. He and Raymond Floyd both finished 10-under. Once again, Faldo and his opponent tied the first playoff hole. He parred the par-4 11th hole while Floyd didn't, so Faldo earned his second consecutive Masters win. He finished tied for 12th in 1991, missing out on the three-peat.
Woods' second and third green jackets came in 2001 and 2002. He debuted at the tournament in 1995 as an amateur and finished tied for 41st. Woods then missed the cut in 1996 and won his first time in Augusta in 1997. He won again in 2001 and wasted little time earning his next green jacket in 2002.
Rory McIlroy won the 2014 Open Championship, and all that eluded him to complete the career grand slam was the green jacket. He came close the next year, finishing in fifth, and then in second in 2022, but it seemed like Augusta National Golf Club may be his kryptonite. McIlroy needed a playoff to beat Justin Rose in 2025, but finally pulled off the feat. With the odds stacked against him and inconsistent play, he did just enough to win in 2026 and become the fourth golfer to ever win back-to-back Masters Tournaments.
Now, McIlroy will look ahead to 2027, and his bid to become the first golfer who has ever won three Masters in a row.
MORE: Who has won the most Masters of all time?
Who gives the Green Jacket to a repeat winner?
Every year, the previous winner of the Masters presents the new winner with their green jacket. It is part of the tournament's ceremony and tradition, but what happens if someone repeats as the winner?
The golfer who won in consecutive years won't present themselves with a second green jacket, and they don't make the winner from two years ago stick around to do it a second year in a row. Instead, the current Augusta National Golf Club Chairman will present the consecutive winner with the green jacket.
MORE: History behind the famous Masters green jacket
Has any golfer won three Masters in a row?
No, no golfer has ever won three Masters Tournaments in a row.
English (US)