There is no debate anymore, McIlroy is Ireland's greatest of all time

RORY MCILROY is Ireland's greatest sportsperson - there is no debating that now.

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Pugilists may argue for Katie Taylor, rugby people for Brian O'Driscoll, The Dubs for Kevin Heffernan or Stephen Cluxton, football fans for John Giles or Roy Keane, but McIlroy was having none of that as the shadows fell in Augusta.

Sunday's Masters win was his best, most character-enhancing, victory. Even if he had failed to add a green jacket to his wardrobe, he would still have been one of golf's greatest players, central to its show-reel.

Remember he is the one who took on LIV, this man of high principle and high fades, who, at his best, doesn't appear to use a club but a wand.

What he did at the 15th last night, bending a ball around a tree before landing it five feet from the hole, was golf's equivalent of Diego Maradona's dribble and finish against England in Mexico '86.

His place in posterity, his legacy, was at stake at the time because of the glaring gap on his CV.

For 14 years he has been asked questions about his psychological hang-up at Augusta, a tournament he had a great chance of winning in 2011, before he blew a four-shot lead on the final day.

On Sunday, history looked like repeating itself. Again, he had a sizeable lead and again, he looked like throwing it away, prior to rescuing his chances with that bend-around-the-tree shot on 15.

Then, to add to the melodrama, McIlroy missed a putt he should have nailed, then landed a putt he could have missed, and then missed again on 18 to suggest he was a world-class choker rather than world-class player.

But something happened in the minutes between the final putt of his regulation round and his return to the 18th tee for his play-off.