Who Were The Big Winners And Losers On Masters Sunday?

Sunday at The Masters lived up to expectations with a fascinating final round as numerous players contended for the title before Rory McIlroy eventually put the seal on his second consecutive Green Jacket.

While much of the focus was on the progress of the 36-year-old in his bid to claim back-to-back titles for the first time since Tiger Woods in 2002, stories were popping up all over the course.

Once the dust had settled, there were some clear winners and losers from the afternoon, with some able to leave Augusta National with their heads held high and others no doubt wishing they could turn back the clock to the start of the day and try again.

Here are the big winners and losers from the final round of The Masters.

Winners At The 2026 Masters

Rory McIlroy

Obviously, McIlroy tops the list of winners, not just because he claimed the Green Jacket for the second consecutive year.

McIlroy also benefited hugely in a financial sense, with $4.5m in prize money as well as plenty of other perks.

But arguably more important than that is the manner in which he closed out the victory. A year ago, there was not just a maiden Masters title at stake for McIlroy, but his career Grand Slam as well as a first Major anywhere for over 10 years.

This time around, it was more of a “regular” Major challenge for McIlroy, with winning important, but not career-defining.

He admitted before the 2026 event that it took him some time to realise that winning the career Grand Slam wasn’t a destination but part of his journey, and that’s how it looked during his title defence.

Despite some wobbles along the way, in the end, McIlroy closed out the final few holes with less drama than a year ago, suggesting that the psychological roadblocks that have seen him falter when in winning positions at other Majors have now been fully overcome.

Scottie Scheffler

For a man as used to winning tournaments as Scheffler, anything other than his third Green Jacket probably feels like a failure now that the dust has settled, but he was 12 behind McIlroy at the halfway stage.

So impressive was Scheffler's surge that, ultimately, he was the only player who would have forced a playoff with McIlroy had he double-bogeyed the last.

Strong finishes after poor starts have been something of a recurring theme for Scheffler this season, so finding consistency for 72 holes is something he still needs to work on, but he demonstrated just how potent he will be if he can find that in the coming weeks.

Like McIlroy, Scheffler also banked huge prize money, with earnings of $2.43m.

Tyrrell Hatton

Overall, it was a disappointing week for the LIV Golfers in the field, with five failing to make the cut and those who remained largely unimpressive, with one exception – Tyrrell Hatton.

While the Legion XIII player is still waiting for his maiden Major title, he has emerged as one of the circuit’s most consistent performers at the big events. That was a trend that continued at The Masters with his tie for third, helped by a 66 in the final round, giving him his best finish at a Major.

While bigger names like Dustin Johnson and Jon Rahm continue to struggle to bring their best golf to the Majors, Hatton appears to have grown into them since joining LIV Golf, and that surely bodes well for him in the remaining three this year.

Collin Morikawa

Collin Morikawa produced his second consecutive round of 68 on Sunday to leave Augusta National having tied for seventh.

That's only his third-best finish at The Masters, but it was extremely impressive considering his lack of preparation for the event.

Morikawa hadn't played since withdrawing after the first hole of The Players Championship with a bad back.

He was still struggling with the injury at Augusta National, so to finish as strongly as he did speaks volumes for his determination.

Afterwards, he said: "Trust me, it's going to be one of the best tournaments forever.

"I'm going to remember this one for many reasons, but just more how strong the mind is, to be able to go out and convince yourself that everything is going to be OK."

Max Homa

Two years ago, Homa moved into the world’s top 10 after a T3 at The Masters, but it’s a different story nowadays.

The six-time PGA Tour winner has suffered an alarming slump in form of late, but he will surely be encouraged by just his third top 10 at a Major with his T9 at Augusta National.

Even with that performance, which included a 67 on Sunday as he finished strongly, Homa only rose to 117th in the world rankings, but perhaps it can act as a catalyst for a resurgence over the coming months.

Jake Knapp

Jake Knapp just missed out on the top 10, with his 70 on Sunday leaving him one shot adrift in 11th, but he can look back on a job well done.

As well as guaranteeing his place at next year’s event, with the top 12 and ties all qualifying, this was Knapp’s best Major finish by far.

In his previous four Major appearances, he had missed the cut in three, with only a T55 at Augusta National two years ago to show for his efforts.

Gary Woodland

Gary Woodland’s return to top-level golf following serious adversity is one of the game's most inspiring stories.

The 2019 US Open champion had surgery to remove a benign brain tumor in 2023, while in March he revealed a PTSD diagnosis.

Despite that, he won the Texas Children’s Houston Open to qualify for The Masters, where he saved his best round for Sunday, with a 66 for a placing of T33, his best in Major finish for three years.

Brooks Koepka

Koepka built a well-earned reputation as a Major specialist over several years, including five titles, but that has become tarnished by a poor run of late.

Koepka still doesn’t have a top 10 in a Major since his victory at the PGA Championship three years ago. However, his T12 at Augusta National, which included a one-under 71 on Sunday, represents his joint-best performance at the big events since.

Losers At The 2026 Masters

Haotong Li

Haotong Li began the day just four back of the leaders and dreaming of his maiden Major title, but not only did he fail to challenge, he dropped 20 places into a tie for 38th after a disastrous 13th hole that resulted in a 10.

Li went on to become one of only two players to card 80 on Sunday, and his implosion could have repercussions down the line.

If he doesn’t win an event, Li will need to be in the top 100 of the FedEx Cup standings to keep his PGA Tour card.

With elevated points, a strong finish at The Masters would have gone a long way to securing that, but he’s now down in 77th leaving plenty of work ahead.

The boost to both his FedEx Cup standing and world ranking would also have given him a greater chance of qualifying for future Signature Events while a finish of just a few places from his position of T8 at the start of the round would have qualified him for the RBC Heritage via the Aon Next 10.

Shane Lowry

The other player to shoot an 80 on Sunday was Lowry. Like Li, he was also in contention for his maiden Major title at the start of the day, just two off the leaders.

However, a nightmare final round that included three double bogeys left him in a tie for 30th.

That will hurt Lowry financially more than anything. Had he even maintained his position of fourth at the start of the round, he’d have won over $1m. As it is, he left Augusta National with $146,250.

Justin Rose

Rose appeared to be taking control of proceedings after consecutive birdies between the seventh and the ninth, leading by two at one stage.

Will the Englishman, who is now 45, ever get a better chance to win The Masters again?

Rose is no stranger to near misses at Augusta National, having missed out in a playoff twice, including to McIlroy a year ago.

As he explained afterwards, though, they come down to a “flick of a coin at times.”

This time, he had in his hands before Amen Corner got its teeth into him, leaving him lamenting his T3 as a “chance that got away.”

Sergio Garcia

Sergio Garcia was one of five LIV Golfers to make the cut at The Masters, but he didn’t cover himself in glory during the final round, smashing his driver and damaging the second tee box in a moment of frustration after a poor tee shot on his way to a 75 to place T52.

He later admitted that he was “not super-proud” of the incident, but regardless, it earned the 2017 champion a conduct warning.

CBS Sports

The CBS Sports broadcast of the final round received criticism online throughout, with shots and holes missed and the coverage seemingly behind proceedings at times.

It got even worse at the 72nd hole with questionable camerawork spoiling the moment for some as McIlroy was about to seal the title.

Many were upset that camera operators seemingly lost track of the location of the ball after McIlroy’s second shot as it dropped into the front-left greenside bunker.

To compound the frustration, the angle used to show McIlroy's winning putt wasn't ideal. Indeed, sitting at home, it was impossible to see whether he had actually sunk the one-footer as he was blocking the hole.