‘I spoke to two Presidents’ – McIlroy details aftermath of ‘amazing’ Masters win

After winning the Masters and becoming just the sixth man in history to complete the career Grand Slam, Rory McIlroy has understandably been enjoying himself.

Details of any celebrations have been few and far between since the Northern Irishman left the grounds at Augusta National with his first Green Jacket, but he has given an insight into what happened in the days after his greatest triumph.

“It's been an amazing few days after, and to be able to reflect on it and everything that happened and the magnitude of everything, I think the big thing for me is just how the whole journey sort of resonated with people and the people that have reached out to me,” McIlroy told reporters ahead of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.

“That's been absolutely amazing. It's not every day you get to fulfill one of your lifelong goals and dreams, and I've just really tried to enjoy everything that comes along with that.”

All major wins carry a certain significance, but McIlroy’s emotionally charged victory at Augusta resonated on another level.

It was the culmination of decades of hard work and heartbreaks on some of the sport’s biggest stages, all the while questions persisted every year about when he was finally going to slip into a Green Jacket.

The world expected but that doesn’t mean it was destined to happen. And now that he has finally answered the questions, McIlroy spoke about why he thinks his win meant so much to so many people.

“[It went] very much beyond golf,” he added. “I spoke to two Presidents the day after, which was pretty cool. 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, very humbling, I guess.

“I think people can see themselves in the struggle at times, and everything that you sort of try to put into 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, I think it resonated with a lot of people.”

McIlroy has the chance to add to his five majors this summer and has been backed by many to do so, but first he will attempt to defend the title he won last year alongside Shane Lowry.

Things were very different for McIlroy when he arrived in New Orleans 12 months ago but, with the benefit of hindsight, capturing a feel-good victory with a good friend appears to have transformed his fortunes.

“If you had asked me a year ago if I'd be sitting here in this position and everything that's happened. But yeah, I honestly could not be in a better place in my life professionally, personally, all of it,” McIlroy continued.

“It's amazing what a year can do. This tournament last year was a really cool moment for both of us. I think it probably injected a little bit of joy back into golf for me in some way, which I think is really, really important, not to lose that.

“I had a great year last year, and I think this tournament was sort of the catalyst to the really good golf that I played for the rest of the year.”