The echoes of Rory McIlroy’s spectacular victory at the Masters Tournament continue to reverberate, even as the world of golf has moved on. After all, it’s not every day that a player completes golf’s Grand Slam by winning the sport’s most iconic tournament for the first time in 17 attempts.
The result has sparked debate about McIlroy’s place among the greatest players of all time, and who better than one of them, Sir Nick Faldo, to speak on the subject.
The three-time Masters winner not only confirmed that the Northern Irishman is the best European to ever play professional golf, but that he ranks high on the absolute golf stardom.
“It’s a whole different kettle of fish nowadays. He’s done way more than me. He’s won 29 times in America,” Faldo told the Times.
“Of the all-time greats, I’d put him fifth,” he added. “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.”
For those who are not very familiar with the history of golf, Sarazen won 38 times on the PGA Tour between 1922 and 1941. It Includes seven major championship titles, and he was the first player to complete golf’s Grand Slam in its current form (winning at least once each of the four majors: The Masters Tournament, US Open, PGA Championship, Open Championship).
As if that were not enough, he is credited with inventing the modern sand wedges used by all players today.
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Rory McIlroy’s Place in History
McIlroy, meanwhile, has 29 PGA Tour victories, including five in major championships. He is the sixth player in history to complete the Grand Slam of golf in its current form.
Sir Nick Faldo recalled his emotions while seeing Rory McIlroy’s Masters victory, and shared his views on how this win might impact the now five-time major winner’s future results.
“I would’ve thought it’ll set him free and he might be the unique one to go on and win [multiple] more majors,” he said. “I did get teary because I kind of know that walk off 18 and realizing 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.”
At 35 years old, Rory McIlroy is having an extraordinary season in which he has already won three PGA Tour events, including The Players Championship and the Masters Tournament. Most sportsbooks have him among the top favorites to win the other three majors this season, something that have never been achieved by any player.
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