Rory McIlroy has finally ended his lengthy major championship drought, having just won The Masters at Augusta National.
Jack Nicklaus thinks there is more to come from McIlroy after his stunning success, which represents his fifth major championship win.
McIlroy has been congratulated by Tiger Woods following the triumph, which came in the form of a playoff victory over Justin Rose.
European pair Rose and McIlroy led the way on 11-under after four days of action at Augusta, with the latter then winning just one hole into their playoff.
The glory is also of huge significance outside of just The Masters, with McIlroy having now won all four major championships.
Rory McIlroy suggests if he could think about retiring after winning The Masters
By completing the career Grand Slam, he has now followed in the footsteps of Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Nicklaus and Woods.
Reminded that eight years ago he told ESPN’s Marty Smith that he’d never be fulfilled if he didn’t win the green jacket, McIlroy was asked what void he has now filled.
“As much as I like to say I am not defined by my golf or my career, I am,” McIlroy told Smith after winning The Masters.
“And I think it is hard because I came here in 2015 looking to win the career Grand Slam and Jordan Spieth wins his first major.
“And I feel like a lot of my peers I have watched over the past decade win this golf tournament and I have always thought when is it going to be my turn.
“Sometimes I have to be reminded that you join this list of the five others who have won the career Grand Slam and that to me, when I look back, I hopefully still have quite a few years ahead of me and a long career left but when I look back on my career to have my name up alongside those other five in that club or winning the career Grand Slam that is probably going to be one of my proudest achievements.”
What Rory McIlroy didn’t realise until finally winning The Masters
McIlroy was always going to go down as a golfing legend given his feats before this week, which included 28 PGA Tour wins.
But he has taken his career achievements to another level entirely, with both talent and mental toughness needed for his latest success.
He fully deserves to have his name on such an exclusive list, and importantly there is every chance his major championship story does not end here.
Further analysing his unforgettable week at Augusta, the Northern Irishman said: “I felt like I was trying to walk away from history at some point on the back nine.
“I think now I have been able to do it, I maybe did not realise the burden that I have been carrying all this time.
“I would show up here every year and put my positive hat on, and go in with the right attitude and try to do the right things and it never quite happened to me.
“I would come back next year and do the same thing and I just think time after time and year after year of doing that, that burden sort of builds up and then when I finally was able to do it and get over the line and win I think that emotion that you saw was just 14 years of coming here and not getting the job done and just feeling that burden each and every year. It all just came out there on that last green.”
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