Rory McIlroy has understandably taken the plaudits after he defended his Masters crown at Augusta National.
But, in a dramatic week that saw the Northern Irishman lead by six shots after two rounds, only to at one stage trail by two after six holes on Sunday, before eventually finding a way to win, it was not exactly dull.
Along the way, history was made on several occasions as the first major of 2026 saw records tumble — and we look at all of those to have been broken.
– Sir Nick Faldo, Luke Donald lead McIlroy praise
– ‘I don’t make it easy’: How Rory McIlroy won back-to-back Masters
– Justin Rose sees another opportunity slip at Masters
McIlroy joins illustrious group after record-breaking start
Questions were asked before the tournament got underway. Would McIlroy be free of the pressure that consumed him for so long at Augusta? Would the desire to win simply not be there having already donned the Green Jacket last spring?
Those queries were very quickly answered as McIlroy raced into a record-breaking lead at the half-way mark.
No player has ever led by as many as six shots after 36 holes and it appeared with the pressure fully off, he was going to walk to his second Masters title.
But, errant off the tee for much of the week, it caught up with him on Saturday and a one-over par 73, combined with Cam Young’s electric 65 saw him tied heading into Masters Sunday.
Young birdied the second in the final round but was then unable to to keep up the pressure, while Justin Rose briefly led by two shots through six holes.
But eventually it was McIlroy who triumphed, navigating Amen Corner with aplomb with birdies on 12 and 13, to push into a three-shot lead.
Scottie Scheffler, champion in both 2022 and 2024 at Augusta, put up a fight with birdies on 14 and 15, but it was not enough to prevent McIlroy from defending his crown.
In doing so, the 36-year-old joined a very exclusive list of players — with only Jack Nicklaus, Sir Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods previously going back-to-back.
Scheffler breaks 84-year record as third title narrowly evades him
With Scheffler’s second round 74, a first over par round at Augusta since 2023, seemingly putting him out of contention, he came very close to the comeback to end all comebacks.
Twice hitting into the water in the back nine on Friday, Scheffler was level par after 36 holes, a whole 12 shots behind the leader McIlroy.
But Scheffler is not a four-time major winner at the age of 29 for nothing, and he showed his credentials with a sensational 65 on Saturday.
A four-under par 68 on Sunday saw him end up a shot behind McIlroy overall as he went -11 over the weekend.
But somehow even more impressively, Scheffler became the first player since Byron Nelson in 1942 to play the final two rounds of the Masters bogey-free and he needed just one more birdie to take us to a second consecutive playoff.
Pressure built on McIlroy after all-time low third round scores
McIlroy may have faltered with a 73 on Masters Saturday but with such a big lead built over the opening two days, it would typically have been immaterial.
But this year, he was afforded no such luxury as the collective 54 players who made the cut delivered an average all-time low third round score.
With the nine players immediately below McIlroy all finishing at least three under par on Moving Day, the pressure built, but it was incredible golf too from players well outside of contention.
The average score was 70.63, overtaking the previous low of 70.78 from 2019 — with Young’s 65 leading the way to set up for a gripping Sunday.
Lowry makes history with hole in one
There are some players who never achieve a hole in one in their career and then there is Shane Lowry.
The Irishman, just two weeks after his last ace at the Houston Open, watched on with delight as his tee shot at the sixth on Saturday dribbled in.
A jubilant crowd erupted and he was embraced by Tommy Fleetwood as he shot himself into contention.
A disastrous Sunday saw him shoot a seven-over par 79 to finish tied 30th, but Lowry still left a mark on Augusta.
Having also stuck his tee shot in the hole at the par three 16th in 2016, he became the first ever player to score a Masters ace on more than one occasion.
McIlroy the main beneficiary of record purse
There were several records set on the course itself but probably the most eye catching stat came away from the course in the form of the purse.
Prize money in major championships has continued to rise in recent years and the 2026 Masters took it to new heights.
The purse of $22.5 million was a record for not just the Masters itself but for all major championships.
McIlroy himself took a huge chunk ($4.5m) of that purse but after storming up the leaderboard, Scheffler himself banked $2.43m for finishing second.
And each of the third-place finishers, Tyrell Hatton, Russell Henley, Rose and Young all settled for a cool $1.08m.
Some of the big movers up the leaderboard on Masters Sunday, Collin Morikawa and Max Homa, finished tied seventh and tied ninth, taking home $725,000 and $630,000 respectively.
The prize pot was so large this year that even Alex Noren, Harris English and Lowry, who finished tied 30th with scores of -1 for the week, took home $153,000 showcasing just how lucrative the Masters has become.
