Rory McIlroy: Graeme McDowell says Masters champion could win ‘five or six more majors’

McDowell added that he wasn’t remotely surprised by McIlroy’s hugely emotional response to his play-off triumph over Justin Rose as he sank to his knees and cried tears of joy after holing the winning putt.

“Yesterday was a microcosm of everything he’s gone through at Augusta over the years. I remember in 2011 when he had that four-shot lead going into the last round.

“Just to see the outpouring of emotion from him after he beat Justin Rose in the play-off. Everything he has gone through over the last 14 or 15 years just came pouring out of him.”

The former US Open champion, who now plays on the LIV tour, recalled his St Andrews encounter with McIlroy as the then 18-year-old prepared to tee up in what was only his second professional tournament after joining the paid ranks a month earlier.

“We played at a practice round at St Andrews. I shot a 68 and lost the money and it was like, ‘who is this kid just out of school?’. From a very early age, we knew he was special.”

Three years later, McDowell felt the need to take McIlroy under his wing during his Ryder Cup debut at Celtic Manor amid earlier comments from the then youngster casting doubt on the competitive element of the biennial team event.

“He was taking a lot of heat for his ‘the Ryder Cup is just an exhibition’ comment but we instinctively knew we had to protect him because he was the special one.

“We had to look after him and it was a lot of fun to be by his side at a couple of Ryder Cups and watch him blossom into the player he is today.”