Doha [Qatar], April 14: Nick Faldo hailed an "incredible" Rory McIlroy after the Northern Irishman matched his achievement of successfully defending his Masters title.
The world number two also equalled Faldo's major haul of six and looks set to surpass it and become the most successful European of the modern era.
"All credit to him. Incredible. He's got another major to his name," Faldo told Sky Sports.
"All he needs now is to win another US Open and another Open Championship and then he'll be a two-time grand slam champion.
"That's his goal. To get there along with the likes of Jack (Nicklaus) and Tiger (Woods).
"He's unique. Rory is the only one out of those guys to go 11 years between wins, and then he's added another one." Two-time Ryder Cup-winning captain Luke Donald was in no doubt about McIlroy's standing in the game.
"Tying Seve with two green jackets will mean a lot to Rory. He is undoubtedly the best European golfer of all time now. Congratulations," he wrote on X.
Paul McGinley, himself a Ryder Cup-winning captain and close friend of McIlroy, told Sky Sports: "McIlroy wants to be known as the best European of all time.
"As much as many of us might think that already, he still didn't have as many major championships as Nick Faldo, nor Harry Vardon.
"Even though he's caught Nick now with six, he's still got Harry Vardon (seven) to catch.
"There's always another level, and I think Rory has reset his goals in that regard." A post from the Royal Family's official X account on Monday morning read: "Congratulations Rory McIlroy on your extraordinary back-to-back win at The Masters." Manchester United fan McIlroy was praised for his "phenomenal achievement" by the Premier League club.
A statement from United read: "Congratulations on your phenomenal achievement, Rory.
"Everybody at Manchester United is proud of you. We look forward to seeing you back at Old Trafford soon." United also posted a picture of McIlroy holding the Masters trophy, with a caption "So nice he had to do it twice".
Source: Qatar Tribune
