Sir Nick Faldo said Rory McIlroy’s Masters triumph tops Tiger Woods’ Augusta National victory back in 2019 as Butch Harmon hailed the Northern Irishman for completing the career Grand Slam on “one of the greatest days in golf we will ever see”.
Eleven years on from claiming his previous major title – the 2014 PGA Championship – and 14 from squandering a four-shot lead ahead of the final round at The Masters, McIlroy secured his maiden Green Jacket with a play-off win over Justin Rose.
He had led Bryson DeChambeau by two strokes before teeing off only to then double bogey the first, setting up a nerve-shredding day on which he held a four-shot advantage at one stage and then missed a short par putt at the 18th to win in regulation time.
Watch highlights of McIlroy’s rollercoaster round to win The Masters
The world No 2 held his nerve on the first play-off hole to become the sixth man – and first European – to win all four majors at least once, joining Woods, Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player.
Three-time Masters champion Nick Faldo told Sky Sports: “When Tiger won here in 2019 [earning his first major title in 11 years] I said that scene would never be topped but I was wrong.
“For a man to do that after what he went through for 11 years – Rory is a legend now. He is 35 years old and a legend. How about that?! It is a remarkable achievement.”
Harmon: Gladiator McIlroy never quit
Sky Sports pundit Harmon said: “I think we saw one of the greatest days in golf we will ever see. It had an ebb and flow that a Hollywood producer could not have come up with. If you wrote a script like this, they would say it wasn’t believable.
McIlroy reflects on what his Masters win will mean to his family, as he receives his Green Jacket from last year’s winner Scottie Scheffler
“Double-bogeys, birdies, missing three-footers, hitting it in the junk. I will never forget this day. I have never seen emotion like it on a golf course.
“He was like a gladiator in the way he came back. Did he quit? No. Did he hang his head? No. Did he feel sorry for himself? No. Now he has a Green Jacket.
“I have known Rory since he was 16, done a little work with him at times, and this is one of the most amazing victories I have ever seen.”
McIlroy looked poised to end his long wait for a fifth major during last year’s US Open, only to be overhauled by DeChambeau after three bogeys across his last four holes, which included missed putts from two feet and three feet at 16 and 18 respectively.
McIlroy won The Masters with a birdie on the first play-off hole
There were wobbles at Augusta National on Sunday, too – the double-bogey to start, another at 13, a bogey at 15 and then that fluffed putt from close range at 18 – but a lasered approach to the first play-off hole then set up McIlroy’s history-making win.
Former European Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley said of McIlroy: “It is good for the game to have another Grand Slam champion but there is also the human element of resilience and bouncing back.
“He has been battered at times in the last 11 years, letting opportunities slip, and today was a microcosm of those last 11 years, falling down and getting back up, falling down and getting back up.
“He did it four times today and that takes so much energy, so I am full of admiration for him showing so much strength. That human story.”
McIlroy praises childhood friend and caddie Harry Diamond after winning The Masters
So, are more major victories likely to come for McIlroy now?
Dame Laura Davies added: “He might win five or six more majors now as he will never feel pressure like that again, trying to get the Grand Slam. He came through and won.
“It was one of the most amazing sporting moments I have witnessed.”
What’s next for McIlroy?
McIlroy will sit out of the RBC Heritage this week, the latest Signature Event on the PGA Tour, before returning to action – alongside Shane Lowry – as defending champions of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans from April 24-27.
He also returns as defending champion at the Truist Championship – previous called the Wells Fargo Championship from May 8-11, an event he has already won four times and cruised to a five-shot victory at last year.
That event is being played away from the Quail Hollow Club due to it hosting the PGA Championship the following week, where he will look to win the Wanamaker Trophy for a third time and claim a second successive major.
