The Northern Irish golfer finally won the Green Jacket last year to complete the career Grand Slam and says that he enters this year's event at Augusta with a significant weight lifted from his shoulders.

McIlroy quipped: "I think for the past 17 years I just could not wait for the tournament to start, and this year I wouldn't care if the tournament never started!

"I feel so much more relaxed. I know that I'm going to be coming back here for a lot of years, going to enjoy the perks that the champions get here. It doesn't make me any less motivated to go out there and play well and try to win the tournament, but yeah, just more relaxed about it all."

McIlroy's dramatic 2025 triumph ended his long quest to win The Masters but the star insists that there is still a lot he wants to achieve in the sport after completing the full set of major championships.

The world number two: "I think the story as it relates to me is what do I do from now onwards? What motivates me? What gets me going? What do I still want to achieve in the game? I think that's the story.

"There's still a lot that I want to do. You think every time you achieve something or have success that you'll be happy, but then the goalposts move, and they just keep nudging a little bit further and further out of reach.

"I think what I've realised is, if you can just really find enjoyment in the journey, that's the big thing. I felt like the career Grand Slam was my destination, and I got there, and then I realised it wasn't the destination."