Nick Faldo Names 5 Greatest Golfers in History After Rory McIlroy’s Masters Win

Fresh off winning the Masters and securing a career Grand Slam, Rory McIlroy‘s legacy has shot up in the estimations of three-time champion at Augusta, Nick Faldo.

McIlroy became just the sixth golfer in history, and the first European, to achieve the remarkable feat after his recent win at the Masters. The Northern Irishman won the coveted Green Jacket after coming through a tense playoff with fellow Brit Justin Rose. The victory was enough for Faldo to cement McIlroy among his top five golfers of all time, with the rest of his list including four other career Grand Slam recipients.

Speaking to The Times, Faldo commented: “Of the all-time greats, I’d put him (McIlroy) fifth. Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack (Nicklaus), and Tiger (Woods). Rory is right there.”

Rory McIlroy

Majors: 5

McIlroy now has five Majors to his name, with two of those victories coming at the PGA Championship. There was an 11-year gap between him winning his last Major and finally getting his hands on the Green Jacket a fortnight ago.

His victory at the FedEx Cup three years ago saw him become the first player to win the event on three occasions, overtaking Woods, who has two to his name. His success means he has featured for Team Europe at every Ryder Cup since 2010.

Tiger Woods

Majors: 15

Woods is a 15-time Major winner and one of only two players to ever achieve three career Grand Slams, the other being Jack Nicklaus. A win at the 2000 PGA Championship saw Woods secure his first career Grand Slam, and it remains the quickest period for a golfer to ever achieve the feat at four years.

Also, Woods is a five-time winner at Augusta, with his recent win in 2019 coming 22 years after his first Masters win. At 49 years of age, Woods is not in action a great deal due to consistent injury troubles, but when he eventually hangs up his clubs, many will view him as one of the most influential and impactful athletes of recent decades.

Jack Nicklaus

Majors: 18

Nicklaus has the most Major title wins out of any golfer in the sport’s long history with an incredible 18 championships. He is also the most successful player to ever take to Augusta’s course, having won there six times between 1963 and 1986. His final victory at the Masters as a 46-year-old makes him the oldest player to win the iconic Green Jacket to this day.

The 85-year-old sits in many people’s eyes as the greatest to ever play golf as he was always in contention for the major prizes in his career. This led to him having the most ever runner-up finishes in Majors with 19.

Hogan won nine Majors during his career and was a three-time champion at Augusta. His favourite Major, however, was the US Open, as he was victorious there four times between 1948 and 1953.

Remarkably, his win at The Open Championship in 1953 was his only ever appearance at the event. Hogan also won the Masters that same year, making it the most successful and dominant of his career.

Gary Player

Majors: 9

Like Hogan, Player was a nine-time Major winner, and he made history in 1965 as he became the first non-American to achieve the career Grand Slam after winning at the US Open. The Masters and The Open Championship saw the South African excel the most as he won on three occasions at both Majors.

Player has the most appearances at Augusta, as he remarkably competed 52 times at the Masters between 1957 and 2009.

Despite trailing the other five golfers of the career Grand Slam club when it comes to overall Major title wins, Faldo believes time is on McIlroy’s side to win more silverware and there will be less pressure on the Northern Irishman after winning at Augusta. He explained: “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 go on and win more Majors.”

Seven-time major winner, Gene Sarazen, was the only career Grand Slam recipient to not make Faldo’s list, but the 67-year-old puts that down to simply not seeing enough of the American as he competed in the early decades of the 20th century. Faldo stated: “No discredit to Gene Sarazen, but that was a completely different era. I’ve hardly seen any footage of him.”