It’s been a couple days now. All of the excitement has begun to calm down. It is time to sit back and think about what golf fans from all over the world witnessed on Sunday.

One of the best Masters of all time.

Rory McIlroy’s win at Augusta National Golf Club provided everything. Drama, intrigue, sadness, excitement and ultimately the green jacket that McIlroy has long deserved.

“The long journey is over. McIlroy has his masterpiece,” CBS Sports’ Jim Nantz said as McIlroy drained his birdie putt on the first playoff hole on Sunday to beat Justin Rose.

Indeed, it was a masterpiece.

McIlroy’s relationship with The Masters is well known. As a young, aggressive golfer, he led the 2011 tournament by four strokes heading into the final round. He went on to shoot 80 and lose the tournament.

Since then, Augusta National has baffled him. Major championships in general were a problem though. Before Sunday, one of the best golfers in world had not won a major since the 2014 Open Championship.

None of it ever made sense. He was the best player, besides maybe Greg Norman, to never win The Masters. And on Thursday he made two brutal double bogeys to shoot 72 and it seemed like another year was lost.

“I am really good at shooting 72 in the first round of this tournament,” he said on the ESPN broadcast.

It all turned around on Friday when he fired a 66 and then followed with another 66 on Saturday. That put him in complete control. Or was he? After coming up short in 2022 at St. Andrews or in 2023 at Los Angeles Country Club or the ultimate letdown last year at Pinehurst, no one knew what to expect from him on Sunday.

McIlroy delivered in the most Rory way. Brilliant play followed by unspeakable play followed by unbelievable play followed by head scratching play and finally ending with clutch play as he birdied the 19th hole after bogeying the 18th to force the playoff.

It was the ultimate McIlroy experience. And that’s why this Masters ranks among the best.

Where does it actually fall? There are so many options to consider.

All of Tiger Woods’ wins, especially 1997 and 2019, are memorable. The victory in 1997 was historic on so many levels and the emotion behind Woods’ win in 2019 will always be on golf fans’ minds. And much like McIlroy, Woods’ major wins were 11 years apart.

There is Jack Nicklaus’ win in 1986. It was the last of Nicklaus’ 18 major championships and the 46-year-old shot 30 on the second nine to snag the title. Some of the most iconic shots in Augusta history were from Nicklaus on that Sunday.

Norman blowing a six-shot lead in the 1996 Masters is more remembered than Nick Faldo actually winning tournament. Phil Mickelson getting the major monkey off his back in 2004 ranks right up there on the emotion scale with McIlroy.

In the world of recency bias , it is hard to not put McIlroy’s win on top. It happened just four days ago, and the highlights are still everywhere. No. 1 is debatable, and everybody has their own opinion, but McIlroy’s win is in the top 5, especially with him completing the Grand Slam.

It will be one of those Masters that is brought up when the “the best ever” lists come out next April.

“What are we going to talk about next year?” McIlroy said about all the previous questions about him winning the Masters.

The Masters will provide something.

***

Colorado-based colleges gear up for conference tournaments

It is the beginning of conference tournament season for local college golf teams.

The defending D-II national champion Colorado Christian men head back to Boulder Creek Golf Club in Nevada on April 20-22 looking to repeat as RMAC champions. The Cougars have been dominant since winning the national title. They have finished first or second in every tournament they played.

Colorado Mesa, Colorado Mines, CSU Pueblo and Fort Lewis will also be part of the field.

The RMAC women’s title will also be decided at the same course on April 20-22. Adams State, MSU Denver, CSU Pueblo, Fort Lewis, Colorado Mesa and Colorado Christian are part of the field.

Colorado, which finished second at the Thunderbird Collegiate in Phoenix last week, is getting ready for the Big 12 championship, which is set for April 22-24 at Southern Hills in Tulsa, Okla. Southern Hills has hosted several pro golf major championships.

The spring season has been strong for the Buffs. They won one team title, finished second six times and had one third-place finish.

The CU women sat in 14th place after the first round of the Big 12 tournament going into Wednesday. The Mountain West women’s tournament also began Tuesday with CSU sitting in fourth place after day one.

***

What they’re saying

“To be able to share this with him after all the close calls that we’ve had, all the crap that he’s had to take from people that don’t know anything about the game, yeah, this one is just as much his as it is mine.”

Rory McIlroy said about his caddie, Harry Diamond, after winning the Masters on Sunday. McIlroy and Diamond are childhood friends.

***

Skins game

Odds to win RBC Heritage

Scottie Scheffler +360

Collin Morikawa +1100

Ludvig Åberg +1200

Xander Schauffele +1200

Justin Thomas +2000

Patrick Cantlay +2000

Wyndham Clark +5500

***

This week in golf

PGA Tour

RBC HERITAGE

Site: Hilton Head Island, S.C.

Course: Harbour Town GL. Yardage: 7,213. Par: 71.

Prize money: $20 million. Winner’s share: $3.6 million.

Television: Thursday-Friday, noon-4 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. (Golf Channel), 1-4 p.m. (CBS).

Defending champion: Scottie Scheffler.

LPGA Tour

JM Eagle Championship.

Site: Los Angeles.

Course: El Caballero CC. Yardage: 6,679. Par: 72.

Prize money: $3.75 million. Winner’s share: $562,500.

Television: Thursday-Sunday, 4-7 p.m. (Golf Channel).

Defending champion: Hannah Green.

PGA Tour

CORALES PUNTACANA CHAMPIONSHIP

Site: Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.

Course: Puntacana Resort & Club (Corales). Yardage: 7,670. Par: 72.

Prize money: $4 million. Winner’s share: $720,000.

Television: Thursday-Friday, 8-11 a.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 1-4 p.m. (Golf Channel).

Previous winner: Billy Horschel.

European Tour

VOLVO CHINA OPEN

Site: Shanghai.

Course: Enhance Anting GC. Yardage: 7,168. Par: 71.

Prize money: $2.55 million. Winner’s share: $425,000.

Television: Thursday-Friday, 10:30 p.m.-3:30 a.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday, 10:30 p.m.-3 a.m. (Golf Channel); Sunday, 10 p.m.-3 a.m. (Golf Channel).

Defending champion: Adrian Otaegui.

Korn Ferry Tour

LECOM SUNCOAST CLASSIC

Site: Lakewood Ranch, Fla.

Course: Lakewood National GC (Commander). Yardage: 7,133. Par: 71.

Prize money: $1 million. Winner’s share: $180,000.

Television: None.

Previous winner: Tim Widing.

***

FedEx Cup standings

                       Points  Money

1. Rory McIlroy 2,433 $13,257,558

2. Sepp Straka 1,308 $4,195,617

3. Ludvig Aberg 1,268 $5,659,723

4. Scottie Scheffler 1,253 $4,349,197

5. Russell Henley 1,229 $5,643,775

6. Corey Conners 1,222 $4,153,631

7. Collin Morikawa 1,161 $5,894,964

8. JJ Spaun 1,073 $4,634,392

9. Justin Rose 1,022 $4,055,476

10. Hideki Matsuyama 999 $4,674,913

11. Justin Thomas 969 $3,320,663

12. Michael Kim 912 $2,944,173

13. Thomas Detry 889 $2,757,678

14. Maverick McNealy 877 $3,848,051

15. Sungjae Im 857 $3,041,500

16. Shane Lowry 848 $3,688,611

17. Nick Taylor 828 $2,731,464

18. Lucas Glover 828 $3,033,613

19. Tom Hoge 776 $3,014,618

20. Min Woo Lee 757 $2,713,336

21. Harris English 754 $2,634,204

22. Brian Harman 707 $2,453,200

23. Jason Day 703 $2,328,872

24. Akshay Bhatia 664 $2,491,994

25. Patrick Cantlay 641 $2,301,380

26. Daniel Berger 637 $2,308,816

27. Joe Highsmith 633 $2,095,856

28. Viktor Hovland 611 $2,032,023

29. Denny McCarthy 606 $2,118,130

30. Tommy Fleetwood 588 $2,124,188

31. Jacob Bridgeman 583 $1,950,029

32. Andrew Novak 580 $2,098,205

33. Keegan Bradley 574 $1,920,628

34. Ryan Gerard 546 $1,778,572

35. Brian Campbell 544 $1,426,375

36. Bud Cauley 521 $1,687,545

37. Patrick Rodgers 510 $1,797,112

38. Robert Macintyre 493 $1,871,762

39. Taylor Pendrith 485 $1,772,226

40. Sam Stevens 475 $1,686,791

41. Aaron Rai 465 $1,798,425

42. Tony Finau 457 $1,567,701

43. Stephan Jaeger 455 $1,528,558

44. Ben Griffin 445 $1,368,690

45. Cameron Davis 440 $1,290,400

46. ​​Nicolas Echavarria 439 $1,439,946

47. Jake Knapp 399 $1,494,373

48. Gary Woodland 394 $1,297,954

49. Jordan Spieth 377 $1,339,868

50. Jonathan Vegas 368 $1,152,270