Where does McIlroy rank among greats after Masters defence?

Jack Nicklaus' record tally of 18 men's major titles - set in 1986 - remains the target [Getty Images]

A surefire sign of a sports star who wants to achieve true greatness is the ability to recalibrate, realign and reach their next goal.

Jack Nicklaus had that quality. Tiger Woods also had it.

Rory McIlroy is highly unlikely to reach the same number of major wins as the two finest golfers to have ever picked up a club but, after becoming only the fourth player to successfully defend the Masters title, he has shown he has the same ability to chase down new targets.

After becoming only the sixth man to have swept the board at the four major tournaments - the Masters, US PGA Championship, the Open Championship and the US Open - at Augusta National last year, McIlroy searched for new purpose having scaled his "golfing Everest".

It is no secret of where his ambitions lie now: climbing as high as possible on the list of major wins.

"If you win more than one major you're semi-elite. To have won three of the majors means you have had an exceptional career," Ken Brown, the BBC golf commentator and former European Ryder Cup player said.

"But to win the Grand Slam and back-to-back Masters? It puts you in the spot where you are living with the absolute greats who have played the game in the modern era."

After securing a sixth major title at Augusta National on Sunday, where does the 36-year-old from Northern Ireland go next and where does he now sit in the pantheon of golfing greats?

Nicklaus & Woods still reign - how far behind is McIlroy?

When McIlroy emerged as a swashbuckling, shot-making force in the 2010s, many observers marked him out as a player who would claim multiple majors.

They were right, of course, but the bold predictions of the curly-haired youngster from Holywood racking up figures to challenge Nicklaus and Woods proved too dizzy.

McIlroy confidently claimed four majors between 2011 and 2014 to underline why he was considered a generational talent.

Claiming his third and fourth with back-to-back wins at the Open Championship and US PGA Championship in 2014 led to giddy thoughts of what he might go on to achieve.

Talk immediately turned to McIlroy completing the career Grand Slam at the 2015 Masters.

But the weight of expectation began to bother McIlroy, not only when he made the annual pilgrimage to Augusta National, but at all of the majors.

The drought went on longer and longer as several chances were missed, most notably at the 2018 Masters, 2022 Open and back-to-back US Opens in 2023 and 2024.

The question of 'when' McIlroy would win his fifth major began to be asked less. People were now wondering 'if' he would ever add to his haul.

"Each year was getting more and more pressure," said Brown.

"You get older and older. And then you start to question yourself: 'I've had a chance to win it there, I should have won it that year, I could have done it then. Am I ever going to do it?'

"This monkey was seriously on his back."

McIlroy eventually got over the line, of course, at the Masters last year, finally completing the full house and ending a painful 11-year fallow period.

In the immediate aftermath he was already looking ahead and detailing how he felt achieving his golfing dream would "free him up" to add more majors.

How many could he get to? Those predictions made over a decade ago that he could challenge the numbers posted by Nicklaus and Woods remain fanciful.

However, history shows McIlroy - who turns 37 next month and has a body seemingly equipped for longevity - should have plenty of time left to add more.

Phil Mickelson became the oldest man to win a major when, just 24 days short of his 51st birthday, he claimed the US PGA Championship at Kiawah Island in 2021.

Nicklaus is still the oldest Masters champion after winning his 18th and final major there aged 46 in 1986, while Woods was 43 when he won his 15th major at Augusta National in 2019.

"Rory is as fit as a fiddle. He's so diligent with his fitness work. I think virtually every day he does an hour just working on his legs," said Brown.

"He's never going to say, 'Oh, I'll just have the day off'. He has that level of intensity which passes people by when you see someone play.

"He is one of the greats because he's always working on something. But to win a lot of majors you've got to be fit, you've got to be strong, you've got to make sure you're mentally prepared for it every week. Rory is."

Faldo & Seve eclipsed - is McIlroy now Europe's greatest?

For the time being, there are more achievable goals that would serve to underline McIlroy's greatness.

"He wants to be known as the greatest European of all-time," said former European Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley.

Current skipper Luke Donald has already declared McIlroy as top of the pile.

Winning back-to-back Masters moved him alongside England's Sir Nick Faldo on six majors and one clear of Spain's Seve Ballesteros.

Jersey's Harry Vardon remains clear of the modern-era set after winning seven majors between 1896 and 1914 - a record six Opens and one US Open in a time before the US PGA Championship and Masters existed.

Nevertheless, there is already a compelling argument that McIlroy is the greatest player to emerge from Europe.

Another major win would mean it could not be credibly disputed on the basis of the statistics.

McIlroy has won 30 times on the PGA Tour - long established as the strongest test of a player's ability - including two victories at the US-based tour's flagship Players Championship.

Outside his three Masters and three Open titles, Faldo won only three other events that count on the PGA Tour, although he played in a different time when the European Tour was stronger.

McIlroy is also homing in on a record eighth victory in the European tour's season-long race.

Last season he clinched a seventh Race to Dubai title - his fourth in succession - to eclipse Ballesteros' tally of six and leave him one behind Colin Montgomerie's record.

"As much as many of us might think that he's already Europe's best ever, he didn't have as many major championships as Nick Faldo or Harry Vardon," added McGinley.

"Even though he has caught Nick he hasn't caught Vardon. There's always another level to reach and I think he has reset his goals in that regard."

Clear of Koepka & Scheffler - best of his generation?

Looking at a more recent era, there is a valid argument McIlroy is the best player of his generation.

McIlroy's tally of six majors has not been matched by anyone else since he won his first at the 2011 US Open.

By winning his second Masters, McIlroy pulled clear of American five-time major champion Brooks Koepka (three US PGA and two US Open titles) and extended the gap on current world number one Scottie Scheffler, who has four.

Dominating the majors is no easy feat, though, and only 10 men - including McIlroy in 2014 - have won multiple majors in a single year since 2000.

Given the quality of the current crop of players, it would be brave to predict McIlroy will be able to go on a run.

Scheffler, 28, is the obvious name who poses the biggest threat, but there is a long list - with the likes of Justin Rose, Cameron Young, Tommy Fleetwood and Xander Schauffele particularly standing out - capable of major success.

"It is quite possible that we could have a battle royale with Scottie Scheffler in a month's time at the US PGA - that would be amazing," said BBC golf correspondent Iain Carter.

"Put that into the context of this being the first Masters since 1994 where we've had no Phil Mickelson and no Tiger Woods - this is golf which has gone completely full circle.

"We have our superstars now and we don't have to think about those great names from the past any more."

For now, McIlroy has reemerged as the standout star.

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