Rory McIlroy makes it back-to-back Masters after dramatic last day at Augusta National

Twelve months after claiming his much-desired breakthrough win here at last, the Northern Irishman did it again, joining Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods as the only players to win back-to-back at the Georgia venue.

After holding a record six-shot halfway lead in the 90th edition, McIlroy did it the hard way over the weekend. At one point in the final round, he was three shots off the lead.

Cameron Young, his playing partner in the final group, was the player he found himself chasing before that then became Justin Rose, the man he’d beat in a play-off last year.

Rose, a three-time runner-up here, was bitten by Amen Corner. In contrast, McIlroy made hay in the most famous stretch in golf.

In the third round, he’d taken 15 shots for the three holes down there. This time it was just ten. He made a good par at the 11th before picking up birdies at both the 12th and 13th.

World No 1 Scottie Scheffler, a two-time winner, made a late run by picking up birdies at the 15th and 16th and was close to making it three on the spin.

After struggling with his game on Saturday, McIlroy spent some time on the range hitting balls under the watchful eye of caddie Harry Diamond and it paid dividends.

Though the one at the last was wild, to say the least, his tee shots in particular were much better and, helped by that, it was mission accomplished once again despite the fact he put himself through some unnecessary stress.

His mum and dad, Rosie and Gerry, missed out last year but not this time. As McIlroy was overcome with emotion once again, they were waiting for him at the back of the green along with his wife Erica and daughter Poppy.

Cries of “Rory, Rory, Rory” greeted his victory and, though he’ll enjoy this one, he’ll now have a history-making hat-trick in his sights when he returns to a venue he simply loves.

Having opened with rounds of 67-65 before adding a 73, McIlroy signed off with a 71. Finishing with a 12-under total, the 36-year-old won by one shot, claiming a sixth major title in the process.

Scheffler, who will defend his PGA Championship title at Aronimink next month, finished second, with Rose, who has now ended up in the top five on five occasions in this event, sharing third spot.

Having leapt up the leaderboard with a best–of-the-day six-under 66, fellow Englishman Tyrrell Hatton also finished on ten under, as did Young and Russell Henley.

The front nine had more twists and turns than this correspondent can remember on the corresponding stretch in the season’s opening major.

Early on, McIlroy and Young led by three shots after being just one clear heading out, with Sam Burns, who’d been their closest challenger quickly dropping out of contention as he took a rare double-bogey 7 at the second then bogeyed the third.

Then, all of a sudden, Young was two shots in front, which came about as a result of McIlroy, having badly pulled his tee shot, three-putted from nine feet at the fourth.

Up ahead of the last group, Scheffler picked up shots at the first and third before making huge momentum par saves at the sixth and seventh. He then went on a par run when the odd birdie was needed.

Playing with Burns, Shane Lowry made a sloppy bogey at the first before three-putting the fourth then catching the lip of a bunker with his second at the fifth and taking a double-bogey 6 there.

Henley, meanwhile, was doing his best to make it a 37th birthday to remember. He birdied the first, fourth, seventh and eighth to raise hopes of a maiden major win.

As for Rose, he raised the first huge cheer of the afternoon by chipping in at the first before giving that shot back when his chip failed to get up the slope and ended up back at his feet.

He then rolled in a great putt for just the second birdie of the day at the tough fifth before producing one of the best shots of the entire week - his Masters career as well - at the seventh.

His recovery from deep in the trees on the right had a 20-25 yard cut on it as it landed on the left of the green and ended up stiff on the other side of the putting surface.

With the bit between his teeth, he birdied the par-5 eighth then the ninth as well to be out in four-under 32 and sitting on 12 under. Albeit briefly, the former US Open and Olympic champion led by two.

That was reduced to just one shot when McIlroy and Young both birdied the eighth, with McIlroy then squandering a golden opportunity at the ninth to be tied for the lead heading to the back nine.

Was this going to be the year that Rose finally got over the line here? Unfortunately for him, the answer was ‘no’ after being left battered and bruised by the time he came out of Amen Corner.

He was miles left at the 11th and took a bogey there. He then duffed a pitch at the 12th and suffered more spillage. A majestic second shot set up an eagle chance at the 13th only to three-putt there.

As all that was happening, McIlroy made a brilliant par save from ten feet at the 11th, where he’d taken a double bogey the previous day, before delivering what you felt was going to be a knock-out punch.

Only two birdies had been made all day on the 12th. McIlroy loved his tee shot and rightly so. It landed in the perfect spot and rolled to seven feet. In it went and, moving to 12 under, he was two clear.

He’d made a mess of the par-5 13th, of course, the previous year - but not this time. The average drive distance for the field on the day had been 303 yards and he boomed one 350 yards down there.

After reeling off 11 pars in a row, Scheffler broke that sequence in stunning fashion. His third at the 15th was an all-or-nothing blow. From the trees, he somehow got it to 28 feet and made the putt.

That was the first birdied he’d made on the back nine all week and he followed it with a 2 at the 16th. Having moved to 11 under, he was just two behind McIlroy, as was Rose after he got heading in the right direction again with a 4 at the 15th.

With his engine now firing on all cylinders, Scheffler was agonisingly close to making it three in a row at the 17th, where no-one in the groups that had come through there had managed to make a birdie all day.

That was a boost for McIlroy, who, after missing the fairway on the right at the 15th, was forced to lay up and was lucky that his ball hopped fairway rather than spinning back because, if it had, he’d have been in the water.

Scheffler needed to birdie the last but had to settle for a par. He was 11 under for the weekend and bogey-free for the final 36 holes - the first player to achieve that feat since 1942.

Probably down to adrenaline, McIlroy was five yards long with his tee shot but the man who overpowers golf courses also showed he has a lovely touch around the greens.

Up ahead, Rose, having had a lucky break with his tee shot, bogeyed the 17th and knew again that it was going to be close but not cigar in this tournament.

Though not quite matching the special shot he’d produced when chipping in at the 17th on Friday, McIlroy showed soft hands once more to save par there, meaning he could afford a bogey at the last and still be a back-to-back winner.

His tee shot at the last was closer to the tenth fairway than the 18th one but it was bad enough that he was able to find the front bunker and a bogey got it done.

It was a dramatic and riveting final day from start to finish but ended how McIlroy wanted it to. I’m telling you, it’s worth a movie when you think about everything he’s been through here over the years.

“Never a dull moment,” said John Carr, an Irishman who is an Augusta National member, as he greeted McIlroy on his way to the scoring cabin and he described his story here in a nutshell.