Sir Nick Faldo and Luke Donald heaped praise on Rory McIlroy after the Northern Irishman defended his Masters title at Augusta National.
McIlroy faltered on the front nine and with everything clicking for Justin Rose it looked as though there was to be a reverse of last year’s outcome.
But, as is often the case on Masters Sunday, it was on Amen Corner where the green jacket was decided, with McIlroy getting birdies and Rose bogies on 12 and 13.
That gave McIlroy a three-shot lead with five holes to play and a late rally from Scottie Scheffler was not enough to catch McIlroy even with a bogey on the last.
It further cements his place among the all-time greats, as he joins only Jack Nicklaus, Faldo and Tiger Woods in defending his Masters crown.
Faldo, a three-time winner at Augusta, was one of the first to appreciate McIlroy’s greatness and set him a new goal of becoming a two-time grand slam champion.
He said: “All credit to him, incredible, he’s got another major to his name.
“All he needs now is to win another US Open and another Open Championship and then he’ll be a two-time grand slam champion.
“That’s his goal. To get there along with the likes of Jack [Nicklaus] and Tiger [Woods].
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“He’s unique, Rory is the only one out of those guys to go 11 years between wins, and then he’s added another one.”
With his sixth major, McIlroy levelled up with Faldo and overtook the great Seve Ballesteros.
He still sits one behind Harry Vardon, who won seven titles between 1896 and 1914.
Luke Donald, who captained the Ryder Cup team which McIlroy starred in last September believes McIlroy has already become the greatest European golfer of all time, while Paul McGinley, a close friend of the Northern Irishman, believes he will want to catch Vardon.
Donald took to X to say: “Tying Seve with 2 green jackets will mean a lot to Rory. He is undoubtedly the best European golfer of all time now. Congratulations.”
McGinley told Sky Sports: “McIlroy wants to be known as the best European of all time.
“As much as many of us might think that already, he still didn’t have as many major championships as Nick Faldo, nor Harry Vardon.
“Even though he’s caught Nick now with six, he’s still got Harry Vardon [seven] to catch. “There’s always another level, and I think Rory has reset his goals in that regard.”
Information from PA contributed to this report.
