The 36-year-old golfer finally hit the milestone after winning the Masters at Augusta last month and he admitted the pressure of claiming victory in the tournament has been a “heavy weight to carry” over the years.

Asked how hard it has been to be one Major away from the Grand Slam, he told Golf Monthly magazine: “It’s been very difficult.

“I think I’ve carried that burden since August 2014. It’s nearly 11 years.

“And not just about winning my next Major, but the Career Grand Slam, trying to join a group of five players to do it and watching a lot of my peers get Green Jackets in the process.

“It was a heavy weight to carry, and thankfully now I don’t have to carry it anymore and it frees me up.

“I know I’m coming back to Augusta National every year, which is a lovely feeling.”

And Rory admitted he had “started to wonder” if he’d ever win at Augusta.

He said: “It was my 17th time at Augusta and I started to wonder if it would ever be my time.

“I think the last 10 years, coming here with the burden of the Career Grand Slam on my shoulders and trying to achieve that, I’m sort of wondering what we’re all going to talk about going into next year’s Masters.

“But I’m absolutely honoured and thrilled and just so proud to be able to call myself a Masters Champion.”