(Editor’s note: Rory McIlroy has won the 2026 Masters tournament, besting Scottie Scheffler by one stroke.)
Rory McIlroy can etch his name deeper into the record books at the 2026 Masters. He enters this final round at Augusta National tied atop the leaderboard with Cameron Young, and the duo are the second pair ever to be ranked in the top three of the World Golf Rankings and be the final tee time at the Masters. The 36-year-old from Northern Ireland and Jupiter, Florida resident is poised to become the fourth player ever to repeat as Masters champion and the first since Tiger Woods in 2001 and 2002.
It was an up-and-down third round for McIlroy, who began the day with the largest 36-hole lead in Masters history. Is 1-over 73 was enough to keep all but one player chasing him in the field, but will last year’s victory be what help propels him, or will the nightmare of the 2011 finish creep back up in Rory’s mindset?
The Palm Beach Post is following McIlroy’s pursuit of history with his updating scorecard. Keep scrolling for the latest updates from McIlroy’s Round 4.
Watch the Masters live on Fubo (free trial)
Masters leaderboard 2026
Keep up with all the latest scores on our live Masters leaderboard.
Rory McIlroy score today at Masters 2026
Rory McIlroy began his day missing a pair of scoring opportunities to score. He had short putts on the first two holes for birdie but was unable to sink either of them. Meanwhile, Cameron Young birdied the par-5 second hole to take a one-shot lead.
But then McIlroy didn’t let another chance slip by. After working to get to about 10 feet away for birdie on the par-4 third hole, McIlroy did sink this putt to get to 12 under for the tournament, retying Cameron Young.
Just as soon as Rory McIlroy got back on the leader’s pace, he fought mini-disaster on the fourth hole. McIlroy struggled with a pair of putts, lipping out the second of which and having to settle with a three-put on the par-3 hole. His 5 there dropped him two shots behind Cameron Young and firming in second place at 10 under for the tournament.
Two holes later, McIlroy bogeyed on the par-3 sixth hole to fall to 9 under for the tournament and 2 over on the day.
But McIlroy responded with a birdie on the seventh hole to close to within a shot of the new leader, Justin Rose, with whom he tied after 72 holes last year at Augusta.
McIlroy scored again with easy command of the par-5 eighth, scoring a birdie to close to within one shot of Rose.
McIlroy closed out his front nine with a missed birdie putt from about 8 feet away. His par gave him a even 36 as he approached the back nine at Augusta National.
Then, after pars on 10 and 11, McIlroy hit a marvelous tee shot on the par-3 12th hole, sticking it within 7 feet of the hole. McIlroy then sank the birdie putt to take a two-stroke lead.
He later followed that up with another birdie, this time on the par-5 13th hole, after a 350-yard drive to put him in scoring position.
McIlroy followed with a spellbounding putt from the rough onto the green and inches from the hole for his second shot on the par-3 16 to make a 3. Then, after his approach shot on the par-4 17 fell off the green, he nearly chipped in — as he did on Friday — to set up another par and go to the final hole with a two-shot lead.
After spectacular shots on 16 (putt from the rough) and 17 (chip from the rough) to maintain his two-shot lead, Rory McIlroy sent his tee shot on 18 deep into the trees. But he was able to handle that trouble to make a bogey 5 and win the 2026 Masters. he’s the fourth man to win the Green Jacket for the second straight year.
Rory McIlroy Masters Round 4 score, hole by hole
Here’s a look at McIlroy’s hole-by-hole scorecard, along with his score to par for the round and tournament:
Rory McIlroy Masters score 2026, round by round
When does Rory McIlroy tee off today?
Rory McIlroy is in the final pairing with Cameron Young. McIlroy teed off at No. 1 at 2:25 p.m. ET.
Has anyone won the Masters back to back?
McIlroy is attempting to become just the fourth player ever to win consecutive green jackets. The other three to accomplish the feat are legends of golf:
The fact that McIlroy won the 2025 Masters in a playoff would also fit into this trend. Nicklaus won the 1966 title in an 18-hole playoff, while both of Faldo’s back-to-back wins came via a sudden-death playoff.
How many majors does Rory McIlroy have?
McIlroy has won five majors. Winning the green jacket last year gave McIlroy the career Grand Slam, meaning he has won all four major golf tournaments across his illustrious career. His first major title came in 2011 when he was just 21 years old, but he had to wait 11 years to finish off the career slam. Here’s a look at McIlroy’s majors:
Rory McIlroy Masters dinner menu
Being the reigning champion means McIlroy had the privilege of organizing the famous Masters Champions dinner the Tuesday before the tournament. Here’s what he put on the menu:
What’s the largest win at the Masters?
If McIlroy can further extend his six-stroke lead, he’ll be on pace to break the records Tiger Woods smashed in his historic 1997 Masters victory. A 21-year-old Woods set the Augusta record with a nine-stroke lead after 54 holes (with a score of 201) and ended up winning by 12 shots with what was then a record score of 270 (Dustin Johnson would break that mark with a 20-under 268 in 2020).
Rory McIlroy score at Masters Round 2
McIlroy shot a 7-under 65 in the second round Friday, the low score on the day and one stroke off the record for the lowest score ever in the second round at the Masters. He birdied the last four holes to take a six-shot lead into Saturday’s Round 3. Here’s a look at his hole-by-hole scorecard, along with his score to par for the round and tournament:
Rory McIlroy Masters scorecard for Round 1
McIlroy ended Thursday at the Masters tied for the lead with Sam Burns after both shot a 5-under 67. After a bogey on No. 3, the reigning champ was clean the rest of the day, going on birdie runs twice throughout the round. Here’s a look at his hole-by-hole scorecard, along with his score to par for the round:
Masters coverage 2026: How to watch on TV, live stream
Rounds 3 and 4 of the 2026 Masters will broadcast nationally on Paramount+, CBS’ subscription streaming servce, starting at noon before switching to CBS at 2 p.m. The CBS broadcast is available to stream via Fubo, which offers a free trial for new subscribers, and the tournament is available to stream for free on Masters.com and the Masters app. Featured group and hole streaming from PGA Tour Live is available all day on the ESPN app (with a subscription to the Select plan) starting at 10:15 a.m.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Rory McIlroy Masters score, leaderboard live updates for Round 4
Reporting by Kirkland Crawford, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
