Nick Faldo names top five golfers in history after Rory McIlroy wins the Masters
Ryder Cup legend Nick Faldo has named the top five golfers in history after Rory McIlroy's sensational Masters victory.
McIlroy beat Ryder Cup teammate Justin Rose in a play-off to win his first Masters title and finally complete the career Grand Slam.
The 35-year-old missed a par putt to win the Augusta tournament in regulation but recovered to birdie the first play-off hole and pip Rose to glory.
McIlroy had been chasing a career Grand Slam for over a decade, having won The Open and PGA Championship in 2014, three years after securing his first major at the US Open.
By achieving golfing immortality, McIlroy became just the sixth man – and first European – to clinch the career Slam following Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tiger Woods.
He remains one short of Faldo's Slam tally but the three-time Masters champion insists McIlroy has already achieved more than him.
Faldo in fact rates McIlroy as one of the top five golfers in history along with the aforementioned Hogan, Nicklaus, Player and Woods.
'It's a whole different kettle of fish nowadays. He's done way more than me,'Faldo told The Times. 'He's won 29 times in America.
'Of the all-time greats, I'd put him fifth. Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack [Nicklaus] and Tiger [Woods]. Rory is right there.
'No discredit to Gene Sarazen, but that was a completely different era. I've hardly seen any footage of him, but achieving the grand slam puts you in a different category.'
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Having 'shaken the Masters monkey off his back', McIlroy can go on to win 'multiple more majors', according to Faldo.
'He obviously got off to a flyer with those first four majors,' the 67-year-old said. 'I remember I said then he might be really disappointed to only win ten majors or he will be ecstatic to win five.
'Tiger [Woods] and [Ben] Crenshaw both had big gaps [also 11 years] but only won one more. Rory is 35, he's as fit as a fiddle, and you've got to believe he's really shaken the monkey off his back.
'I would've thought it'll set him free and he might be the unique one to go on and win [multiple] more majors.
'I did get teary because I kind of know that walk off 18 and realising what he'd done, people don't appreciate the workload that has gone into that physically, technically, mentally.
'You spend thousands of hours and hit millions of balls to reach your goal, and a heck of a goal it was.' More Trending
Faldo has known McIlroy for more than two decades and first realised he was a 'special' when they played a practice round at Carnoustie in 2007.
'I had this thing called Team Faldo and I took six or eight of them to California,' he added.
'James Heath was the best amateur, Ollie Fisher was there. Rory was like third back then, but I remember I played with him in a practice round at Carnoustie [in 2007].
'It was chucking it down with rain and he put all his waterproofs on and then he made that famous follow through and I went, 'Wow, that's different'. That was the first time [I knew he was special].'
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