Rory McIlroy couldn't believe he was about to write his name into the Masters history books. The Northern Irishman put himself firmly in the mix as Europe's greatest golfer with his second Masters title on Sunday night.

McIlroy's emotional victory at Augusta last year made him only the sixth man to win a career Grand Slam, joining Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods. However, after successfully defending his title, the Northern Irishman joined an even smaller club with Nicklaus, Woods and Sir Nick Faldo in securing back-to-back titles.

And as the Manchester United supporter waited at the top of the green to tap in his final shot, he crunched over and said to himself: "I can't believe it, no way."

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Speaking after his historic victory, McIlroy will allow himself some time to enjoy another Masters victory but has learnt from last year's experience that he still has work to do. He said: "I think (it will be) different. I said at the start of the week here I felt like the grand slam was the destination and I realised it wasn't. I just won my sixth major and I feel like I'm in a really good spot with my game and my body.

"I don't want to put a number on it but I feel like this win is just - I don't want to say a stop on the journey but it's just a part of the journey.

"I still have things I want to achieve - but I still want to enjoy it as well. I've waited so long to win the Masters and all of a sudden I win two in a row so I still want to enjoy it.

"I've got a couple of weeks off before I go back to play competitive golf but I don't think I'll go through that lull of motivation or the sort of things that I was feeling last year post winning this tournament."

While 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."