One of the many traditions of The Masters is that, after the winning putt is holed on Sunday evening, the victorious player is presented with his Green Jacket by the previous year's champion.
A year ago, Rory McIlroy finally completed the career Grand Slam with the Masters title, bringing to an end a rollercoaster of a Sunday.
Once the sheer emotion of his victory had subsided, McIlroy headed to Butler Cabin, where, in time-honored fashion, 2024 champion Scottie Scheffler helped him slip on the famous garment (a duty the previous champion performs again in the public ceremony).
In the first half of his title defence, McIlroy appeared freed from the burden of expectation that had followed him at Augusta National until he finally lifted the trophy in his 17th Masters appearance.
Indeed, at the halfway stage of the 2026 event, he held a lead of six, the largest 36-hole advantage in Masters history.
McIlroy rarely makes things straightforward, and that proved the case in the third round. As well as some serious charges made by several of his challengers, including Cameron Young, Amen Corner got the better of the champion as he lost the lead to the American before the pair finished the day on 11 under.
Nevertheless, he remained very much in contention, so it begs the question: who will present McIlroy with the Green Jacket if he makes it back-to-back wins in 2026?
The answer can be found by looking at the history of previous winners. Since The Masters began, only three players have achieved back-to-back Masters victories: Jack Nicklaus in 1966, Nick Faldo in 1990 and Tiger Woods in 2002.
The first time it happened, after Nicklaus beat Gay Brewer and Tommy Jacobs in a playoff, Augusta National co-founder Bobby Jones suggested Nicklaus should perform the honor himself, which he did, with chairman Clifford Roberts looking on.
However, when Faldo completed back-to-back titles after beating Raymond Floyd 24 years later, it was decided that the chairman would take on the role. On that occasion, it fell to Hord Hardin to present the jacket to the Englishman.
That was still the case 12 years later when Woods beat Retief Goosen for his second title in a row, with Augusta National chairman Hootie Johnson giving him the Green Jacket.
Even though it’s now been almost a quarter of a century since that moment, it remains the chairman’s duty to hand the Green Jacket to any back-to-back winner.
That means that, should McIlroy win the title this year, the responsibility will go to current chairman Fred Ridley.
