Rory McIlroy says he has been touched by how his journey to winning the career Grand Slam has resonated with people from “all walks of life” as he revealed he spoke with two US presidents after his Masters victory.
McIlroy returns to action this week as he defends the Zurich Classic of New Orleans title with Shane Lowry.
During a trip back to Northern Ireland to visit his parents and long-time coach Michael Bannon, McIlroy said he reflected on the “magnitude” of his achievement of becoming the sixth man to win all four majors.
“I spoke to two presidents the day after which was pretty cool,” said the world number two.
“Just people reaching out from all walks of life, whether it be sports, entertainment, culture, just all of it. People that you would never even think that would watch golf or would know what’s going on, that was very humbling.”
Having won the men’s game’s three other majors – US Open, Open Championship and US PGA Championship – by the end of 2014, McIlroy had to wait 11 years before joining Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as Grand Slam winners.
“I think people can see themselves in the struggle at times and everything you try to put in to getting the best out of yourself in that journey.
“I think people watching someone finally get it done, something they’ve been trying to do for a decade-plus, that’s why I think it resonated with a lot of people.”
Before attempting to win a sixth major title at next month’s US PGA Championship, McIlroy hopes to clinch a second successive Zurich Classic alongside Lowry after their 2024 victory.
“I honestly could not be in a better place in my life, professionally, personally, all of it,” added McIlroy, who said he is feeling under the weather after picking up a cold after the Masters.
“It’s amazing what a year can do. This tournament last year was a really cool moment for both of us and it injected a bit of joy back into golf for me in some way, which I think is really important, not to lose that.
“I had a great year last year and this tournament was a catalyst for the good golf I played for the rest of the year.”
McIlroy beat England’s Justin Rose in a play-off to win the Masters at the end of a rollercoaster final round at Augusta that included two double bogeys for the Northern Irishman.
“I don’t know if it [winning the Masters] gives me more confidence, I’ve always been very confident of my abilities as a golfer.
“I do think the whole day on Sunday at Augusta, I don’t think I’ll ever have to play a harder round of golf in my life.
“To be able to get through that and produce the shots when I needed to, that obviously gives me confidence and I can always draw back on that experience.”
In addition to finally claiming the Masters, McIlroy has the rare opportunity to win a major on home soil when the Open Championship returns to Royal Portrush in July.
Lowry won when the Open returned to Portrush in 2019 and the 38-year-old joked that McIlroy’s recent success will allow him to go under the radar when he returns to defend.
“Going back to Portrush will be incredible. Rory going back as the Masters champion is going to take some of the heat off me so I’m happy with that,” said a smiling Lowry alongside McIlroy on Wednesday.
“It’s going to be a great tournament. I saw something yesterday that 278,000 people are going to attend the Open at Portrush.
“I think a million people applied for tickets. It’s going to be an incredible event and I’ll be happy to be a part of it.”
McIlroy and Lowry will begin the defence of the Zurich Classic at 14:52 BST on Thursday.
