Rory McIlroy overcame another shaky finish on the last hole to become just the fourth player to defend their Masters title at Augusta.
McIlroy finished at 12-under, one shot better than last year, with world No.1 Scottie Scheffler a shot back in second.
A year after giving up the lead on the last hole before winning a playoff, McIlroy stood on the 18th tee with a two shot lead but sent his drive way right into the trees. However he managed to escape with a bogey and claim a sixth major victory.
Justin Rose, who lost the playoff to McIlroy last year, held a two-shot lead at the start of the second nine but couldn’t hold on and claim the elusive green jacket finishing third for a fifth top five at the Masters.
Scheffler became the first player to go bogey free in the final two rounds, dating back to 1942, making up 11 shots before falling just short of a third green jacket.
McIlroy joins Jack Nicklaus, Sir Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods as the fourth player to win back-to-back Masters titles. He has now won the Masters and the PGA Championship twice.
The Northern Irishman started the day at 11-under in the final group with Cameron Young, after his six-shot lead at the end of day two was wiped out following a third round 73.
McIlroy birdied the par four third before a double bogey at the par three fourth saw him give up the lead. Another bogey at the six saw McIlroy drop back to nine-under, but Young also found trouble at the par three.
McIlroy made his charge from the seventh hole going birdie-birdie to be even on the first nine and went clear with consecutive birdies at 12 and 13.
For a brief moment it looked like it was finally going to be Rose’s Masters after three runner-up finishes. He held a two-shot lead after birdies and seven, eight and nine but found trouble at Amen Corner with dropped shots at both 11 and 12.
As he went backwards McIlroy made his charge going closest to the pin for the day at the famed par three 12th before converting his birdie putt. He then recovered from an approach with his second at the back of the par five 13th green to get and up-and-down birdie.
At one point his lead was three shots as a late charge never came from the field with McIlroy safely navigating the 18th hole from the trees on the right and then the front left bunker. He was left with two putts from around 3m to win the title and almost holed the par before tapping in for the victory.
Masters leaderboard
-12 Rory McIlroy (NIR).
-11 Scottie Scheffler (USA)
-10 Tyrrell Hatton (ENG), Cameron Young (USA), Russell Henley (USA), Justin Rose (ENG).
-9 Collin Morikawa (USA), Sam Burns (USA).
-8 Max Homa (USA), Xander Schauffele (USA).
-7 Jake Knapp (USA).
-5 Hideki Matsuyama (JPN), Jordan Spieth (USA), Brooks Koepka (USA), Patrick Cantlay (USA), Patrick Reed (USA), Jason Day (AUS).