Rory McIlroy believes "good things come to those who wait" after claiming back to back Masters titles. (1:04)
The 90th Masters delivered another thrilling tournament and a familiar winner in Rory McIlroy, who became only the fourth player ever to win back-to-back green jackets.
With the first and biggest major of the year now through, the stage is set for the rest of the golf calendar to take center stage. Here are the top storylines we're watching.
Mark Schlabach: The question coming out of McIlroy's 2025 Masters victory was whether he would keep winning because he no longer carried the weight of a nearly 10-year drought without a major and having never won a green jacket to complete the career Grand Slam.
I think Rory would admit he enjoyed his first Masters victory a little more than he believed he would. It was hard to blame him. He wasn't really a contender in the last three majors in 2025, trying for 47th in the PGA Championship, 19th in the U.S. Open and seventh in The Open. He had some nice finishes in signature events, but Scottie Scheffler and others dominated the summer.
McIlroy didn't play terrible golf during the remainder of the 2025 season, but it seemed like he did take his foot off the gas a little bit.
Will this year be different? A second straight Masters victory proved that he still has enough game to stack up more major championships. Jack Nicklaus won four of his record 18 majors after age 36. Could Rory get to 10 with four more? He would become only the fourth man to do it, joining Nicklaus, Tiger Woods (15) and Walter Hagen (11).
Paolo Uggetti: I'm really fascinated by McIlroy's evolving approach to preparing for the biggest events of the year. He spoke at length about how he prepared for this year's Masters by playing the course many times and spending time on property -- this is the one tournament where he can do that and it's why he believes (and said last week) that this is the major where he can have the most success as he enters another stage of his career.
So, where does that leave the rest? It seems that McIlroy does well with these flash point events that mean a little more to him -- not just the majors, but the Ryder Cup and winning at specific venues that have greater significance. This year, there isn't anything left on the calendar that rises to the level of a second green jacket, but there is a clear confidence in him that he can compete wherever he shows up and even while playing his B or C game. The only variable factor is how much he chooses to either care or prepare.
Now, the runway is pretty clear; McIlroy's playing an emotional game (see: Ryder Cup in Ireland next year and the Open at the Old Course) as well as a mathematical one -- how many more PGA Tour wins can he add to his total? Can he get to double-digit majors? The latter now seems like a real possibility, which adds the exact kind of juice to the three majors left this year and the ones to come after that.
Schlabach: If there are golf gods, Justin Rose will slip on a green jacket in the next few years. The 45-year-old was trying to become the second-oldest Masters champion -- Nicklaus slipped on his sixth at 46 in 1986 -- and was in the mix again on the second nine on Sunday.
Rose made three straight birdies to go 2 up at the turn, but then he made a mess of Amen Corner. His tee shot on the par-3 12th wasn't horrible, but then Rose chunked a chip shot, which led to a bogey. He made a great recovery with a daring approach shot on the 13th, but three-putted for par, all but killing his chances.
Rose is now a three-time runner-up in the Masters, including his playoff loss to McIlroy in 2025.
Uggetti: I think for me, it's the way this tournament -- year after year -- shows us exactly how much more it means and weighs on these players than any other event they play as well as how this golf course has produced only top-notch winners.
For the last five years, the winners have been Jon Rahm, Scottie Scheffler (twice) and McIlroy (twice) -- it does not get much better than that. It's clear that Augusta has figured out the right approach (provided the weather cooperates) to not just produce a leaderboard full of the best players in the world, but also one that demands a unique combination of execution and mental fortitude that isn't found at any other event.
No one has embodied that more than McIlroy over the last two years. In a tournament that feels like a battle of attrition, McIlroy has (barely) survived while others have either wilted or simply not done enough. No other stage in golf puts these guys in such a pressure cooker that the stakes of winning the Masters and a green jacket can be felt and seen so vividly.
Schlabach: Other than Rory, it has to be Collin Morikawa. Despite playing with a painful back injury, the two-time major champion gutted out a tie for seventh at 9 under. On Sunday, he made five straight birdies on the second nine to close with a second straight 4-under 68.
There were times throughout the tournament when Morikawa struggled to bend over and get the ball out of the cup. He hadn't played in nearly a month after tweaking his back on his first hole of the Players Championship.
"I mean, trust me, it's going to be one of the best tournaments forever," Morikawa said. "I'm going to remember this one for many reasons, but just more [for] how strong the mind is, to be able to go out and convince yourself that everything is going to be okay."
Uggetti: Honestly, I can't stop thinking about how Scottie Scheffler was 12 shots back heading into the weekend and ended up being one stroke short of forcing a playoff against McIlroy.
Scheffler's floor is one of the highest we've ever seen in the sport. He nearly won a third green jacket while having his C or B game at best. While McIlroy continues to add to his legacy with another green jacket, Scheffler is living in the prime of his career, and this week was a reminder that there is no limit to how many Masters he can and will win over the course of his career.
It feels reductive to say he was a winner given he fell one stroke short, but as far as looking ahead to the rest of the year and the next five, 10, 15 Masters, it was an important reminder that even if he might struggle on the PGA Tour at times, the No. 1 player in the world is still just that.
Schlabach: Two LIV Golf League stars were red-hot coming into the Masters, but Bryson DeChambeau missed the cut and Jon Rahm tied for 38th at 1 over.
DeChambeau was coming off back-to-back LIV Golf victories and seemed ready to contend for a green jacket after playing with McIlroy in the final group in the final round last year. But DeChambeau had trouble getting out bunkers in both the first and second round. His triple-bogey 7 on the 18th in the second round left him with a 36-hole total of 6-over 150, two worse than the cut line.
Rahm is probably a bigger disappointment to me because it's a continuation of his recent sub-par play in the majors. After winning the Masters and tying for second in The Open in 2023, Rahm hasn't really contended in one major since jumping to LIV Golf.
He was in the hunt in last year's PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina. Rahm was tied for the lead heading to the back nine, but blew up on the final three holes and tied for eighth at 4 under, seven shots behind Scheffler.
Is he playing enough difficult golf courses in the LIV Golf League? Is the competition stiff enough to prepare him for the majors?
"Definitely some things I'm going to change going forward, preparation-wise and what to do," Rahm said. "But it's hard to say how much I learned because I don't think we've ever seen a Masters [course] this firm."
Uggetti: LIV's performance beyond the headliners of Rahm and DeChambeau is an obvious call here, but I'd also point out that Patrick Reed's weekend performance was extremely underwhelming.
Reed, who had been one of the hottest players in the world this year racking up multiple wins on the DP World Tour, went into Saturday with a real shot to win his second green jacket.
But instead of fighting for a spot in a theoretical blockbuster final group with McIlroy, he faded, shooting 72 on Saturday and 73 on Sunday to finish outside the top 10. Now, it's unclear where he goes from here -- are there more DP World Tour events on the horizon ahead of the other major championships? Or will he bide his time and wait until he can play on the PGA Tour in the fall?
Schlabach: Scheffler is the betting favorite in each of the final three majors and odds are he's going to win at least one of them.
During the first round of the 2018 BMW Championship, McIlroy tied the course record of 62 at Aronimink Golf Club outside of Philadelphia, the site of next month's PGA Championship. He made 10 birdies in the round, including seven straight on the back nine.
Keegan Bradley defeated Justin Rose in a playoff to win that tournament. McIlroy was fifth at 18 under, two strokes behind Bradley and Rose.
McIlroy missed the cut in the last U.S. Open played at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club on Long Island in 2018. He posted a 10-over 80 in the first round, which tied his career-worst round to par in a major at the time. He missed 13 of 18 greens.
McIlroy wasn't the only golfer who struggled at Shinnecock that week. Phil Mickelson hit his moving ball out of frustration on the 13th green at Shinnecock Hills and was docked a two-stroke penalty. Jason Day and others also complained about the course setup and the USGA's inability to keep it playable.
Brooks Koepka defended his U.S. Open title with a winning score of 1 over.
Will Shinnecock be easier when the U.S. Open returns there June 18-21?
The final major of the season, The Open, will be played at Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England, on July 16-19. Jordan Spieth lifted the Claret Jug after his three-stroke victory over Matt Kuchar. McIlroy tied for fourth at 5 under.
