Rory McIlroy believes his wife Erica Stoll, and their four-year-old daughter Poppy, will benefit from his recent Masters triumph as he prepares to play at the PGA Championship.
The 36-year-old became the first European golfer in history to complete the career Grand Slam last month when he beat Justin Rose in a dramatic play-off to clinch the first green jacket of his career.
McIlroy had previously had to wait over a decade for a major, having last won at the PGA Championship all the way back in 2014.
He was cheered on by both Erica and Poppy at Augusta, with the Northern Irishman embracing his loved ones as the magnitude of his achievement sunk in.
Rory McIlroy believes his wife Erica Stoll, and their four-year-old daughter Poppy, will benefit from his recent Masters triumph as he prepares to play at the PGA Championship
GETTY/REUTERS
McIlroy, speaking at a press conference, believes his family will now benefit from his exploits on the course - insisting he'll be more 'relaxed'.
"I probably won't be quite as on edge as I have been for the last few years when I've been at major championships," he said.
"I'll probably be a little bit better to be around for my family, and I'll be a little more relaxed. I think overall it will be a good thing.”
The Masters certainly lived up to the hype.
Pressure appeared to be getting to McIlroy towards the end of play, with the Briton missing a putt that would have avoided the play-off.
He was supreme against Rose, however, with the golfer summoning his best form to finally end his agonising wait for Masters glory.
McIlroy could be forgiven for being unfazed about more majors. Now he's got the career Grand Slam, there isn't much else left to achieve.
However, the golfer has insisted he's still got the hunger to win more majors going forward.
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Rory McIlroy and Erica Stoll embraced at the Masters as the golf star won at Augusta last month
REUTERS"I still want to create a lot of other highlights and high points, but I'm not sure if any other win will live up to what happened a few weeks ago," he continued.
"I'm still going to set myself goals. I'm still going to try to achieve certain things.
"But I sit here knowing that that very well could be the highlight of my career."
Meanwhile, McIlroy and Erica are poised to return to the UK once the PGA Championship is out of the way.
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The duo have built a mansion in Wentworth, Surrey. And they're planning on leaving Florida for the UK after the US Open next month.
In a recent interview with the Telegraph, McIlroy elaborated on his plans: “Straight after Augusta we traveled over to see the house as it was going through the finishing touches.
“It was fun to see and we could have stayed in it, but we wanted to get over to Holywood [McIlroy’s hometown in Belfast, Ireland].”
That decision comes after it was previously revealed that Erica was eager to live back in England, rather than the United States.
Rory McIlroy previously won the PGA Championship back in 2014GETTYMcIlroy will make an early start to his bid for PGA Championship glory, with the golfer set to tee off at 8.22am local time (1322 BST) on Thursday.
He will be joined by Xander Schauffele and world No 1 Scottie Scheffler.
