Sinking the putt on the last at Augusta knowing the deal was done must have brought great satisfaction and relief for the 35-year-old as doubts were creeping in as to whether or not the Holywood native would ever again get his hands on one of the sport's biggest prizes. In that timeframe, there were 20 top-10 finishes but around the same number of missed cuts as genuine near-misses, the most recent of the latter coming in the 2022 Open at St Andrews and last year’s US Open in North Carolina. The grand slam has been a hot topic of conversation in the last decade and what a relief it is for McIlroy to finally become only the sixth player to achieve that landmark. However - whether or not McIlroy won a fifth major - he would still be classified as one of the greatest players and ambassadors the sport has ever seen. Despite that viewpoint, sporting success usually comes down to how well individuals or teams do at the big events and McIlroy's skill, charisma and consistency combined always suggested a quicker end to his more-than-a-decade wait for another major title. But sometimes the Sporting Gods have different ideas. It often seemed the harder McIlroy tried, the more unlikely it was that he would achieve greatness once again in golf’s four majors – but you always believed that he would get the job done once again. To McIlroy’s credit, he always remained confident in his ability that he would see light at the end of the tunnel in terms of the majors and that patience was rewarded in Georgia on Sunday. His success at Augusta at the 17th attempt means he now has the same amount of major triumphs as the late-great Seve Ballesteros. Sir Nick Faldo leads the European major win chart on six victories and that is something on McIlroy's radar as he made the following comments before a shot was hit in anger at last year’s US Open – which he ultimately threw away to Bryson DeChambeau in the final four holes: “I’ve always said I still feel like being the most successful European in the game is within my reach. “I’ve got obviously Seve and Nick Faldo to pass there in terms of major wins. “I’m really proud of my body of work over the past 15 years and everything that I have achieved. “Obviously getting my hands on a fifth major has taken quite a while, but I’m more confident than ever that I’m right there, that I’m as close as I’ve ever been. “I wouldn’t say I’ve got a particular number of wins [as a target]. I want to win as many golf tournaments as I can, as many majors as I can." Faldo may be next in line for McIlroy but he certainly has plenty of support from the current Sky Sports pundit, who described the Sunday success as “the most amazing piece of history ever” and one to top even the achievement by Tiger Woods at the same Augusta venue back in 2019. "We have just seen the most amazing piece of history ever," Faldo told Sky Sports. "We are honoured that we are up here...I was up here in 2019 for Tiger Woods and I blurted out that we will never see a scene like that again at Augusta. "But I'm delighted that I'm wrong because I think that tops it. "For a man to do it after what he went through, and Tiger went through a lot as well, but for a man to go through a 11-year gap and the wringer he puts us all through today to then join the other five legends means he is now a legend - how cool is that? "You're 35-years-old and you're a legend, I mean, somehow he put it all together. "He just did about everything we didn't say at the start of the show about plodding his way around the golf course, hitting the right tee shots on the par 5 - he didn't do any of that. "He made an absolute pickle of his wedge shot at 13 and 18...my goodness. "We're blessed aren't we? We've seen history and it's a remarkable achievement." Faldo added: "I'm obviously delighted for him. I've known Rory for almost 20 years now as he was in my Faldo series and I took him to California when he wasn't even the best amateur at the time...I've been watching a part of his career and felt it, so that's why I really feel it now for him.” McIlroy will hope that lifting the Masters and completing the grand slam means the shackles might be off and from here - six and seven might end up following quickly. Next up on the major calendar is the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Club in North Carolina – can McIlroy produce another magic moment? Don’t rule it out.