How previous back-to-back Masters winners fared in their three-peat quests

Rory McIlroy joined an exclusive club on Sunday when he became just the fourth different golfer to back-to-back Masters championships. He joined a list that includes only Jack Nicklaus (1965 and 1966), Nick Faldo (1989 and 1990) and Tiger Woods (2001 and 2002).

If McIlroy can win it again next season, he will be the first person to ever win it three years in a row.

Here is how the previous back-to-back winners fared in their quest for a three-peat. 

Jack Nicklaus (1967): Missed the cut

Nicklaus was the first back-to-back Masters winner, and made a different sort of history when he went for a third-consecutive win in 1967.

He missed the cut thanks to a nine-bogey 79 in the second round, making him the first-ever defending champion to not play on the weekend. 

Gay Brewer won at 8-under. 

That was also the only time he ever missed the cut at the Masters between 1960 and 1993. He had previously missed the cut at a 19-year-old in 1959, his first appearance at Augusta. 

Including his back-to-back wins in 1965 and 1966, he won the Masters six times in his career. He won it three more times after his back-to-back wins in 1966 (winning it again in 1972, 1975 and 1986). His first Masters win came in 1963.

Nick Faldo (1991): Tied for 12th place

Faldo made the cut in his three-peat quest, but after shooting a 71 and 73 in the first two rounds, he put himself in too big of a hole to dig out of on the weekend, despite shooting 67 and 70 in the third and fourth rounds.

He finished tied for 12th, five strokes behind winner Ian Woosnam.

While Faldo ultimately fell short of a third consecutive win, he would get a third green jacket in 1996.

Tiger Woods (2003): 15th place

The early 2000s was Tiger Woods at his peak, but his attempt at winning a third consecutive Masters did not go as planned. He finished in 15th place at 2-over, thanks in large part to a slow start that saw him shoot a 76 in the first round. Not even a spectacular 66 third round could get him back into serious contention. 

Mike Weir was the 2003 champion.

Woods would win two more Masters in 2005 and 2019.