He will be 36 next month. He thinks he plays better now than he did 10 years ago. It seems he is right.

Rory McIlroy has played golf for 18 years. He has never won three times before May. Now, he feels very free when he plays. This is not because of the money he has won. He feels he has nothing to lose.

He won the Masters tournament.

He now has a locker upstairs in the Augusta National clubhouse. A size 38 green jacket will be there for him always. He can also always sit at the table for the Masters Club dinner on Tuesday nights. It took him 11 years to do this. He must feel very happy.

McIlroy felt very relieved after he won. He said he felt happy soon after. You could see this on his face when Scottie Scheffler helped him put on the green jacket.

McIlroy asked, "What will we talk about next year?" He felt free when he said this.

Would it be possible to schedule it for next month?

He has won all the big tennis tournaments in his career. Can he win all of them this year? The next big tournaments seem good for him.

Next month, the PGA Championship is at Quail Hollow. McIlroy has won there four times.

Last summer, someone asked him a fun question. If the best player could choose the place for the last game, where would it be? McIlroy quickly said Quail Hollow.

The U.S. Open is at Oakmont. This is a long course, good for players who can hit the ball far. This might be good for him. But the last time he played there, he didn't play well because it rained. He had to leave before the weekend.

The British Open is returning to Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland, which is Rory McIlroy's home. He is hoping to perform well there this time. The last time the tournament was held at Portrush, McIlroy had high hopes, but his first shot went out of bounds. He ended up with a score of 8 on that hole and missed the cut for the rest of the tournament. Now, McIlroy is determined to play much better.

He feels more free than stressed when he comes back.

That is a long time from now, but it shows how people are talking about McIlroy differently. They are not talking about what he was missing, but what more he can achieve.

Scheffler said on Tuesday: 'I don't know how it feels to be asked about winning all the big tournaments. But I know a little bit how it feels when people ask, 'You did this well, but why didn't you do that?' It can be hard for people sometimes.'

Brad Faxon, a good friend who helps McIlroy with putting, thinks McIlroy can win many more big golf games. Faxon said, "He can win 10."

Two famous golfers, Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, thought young Tiger Woods could win 10 green jackets. This was the same number they won together. Woods won 5.

Before McIlroy won his first big tournament in 2011, Padraig Harrington said, "If you want to talk about someone who could beat Jack's record, that's him."

Nicklaus holds the record for the most major golf championships won, with 18 titles. McIlroy has won five, which is the same number as Brooks Koepka, but ten fewer than Woods.

It's easy to get excited. This golf tournament is one of the best moments at Augusta National, like when Woods won in 2019, 2001, and 1997, Nicklaus in 1986 and 1975, and Arnold Palmer in 1960.

But this was not easy for McIlroy. He had not won a big golf tournament for 11 years. He really wanted to win the Masters tournament. But he only had a real chance to win two times in 16 tries on the last day.

Other players like Greg Norman and Tom Weiskopf had more problems.

McIlroy said two years ago that he would have many difficult Sundays to win another big tournament, like the U.S. Open. He would have had even more difficult Sundays to win the green jacket, because it was very important.

McIlroy is the sixth golfer to win all four big tournaments in his career. The other players are Woods, Nicklaus, Gary Player, Ben Hogan, and Gene Sarazen. But only four of them won it in the modern way, because people only started calling it a 'career slam' in 1960.

Only one other player completed the slam at the Masters. His name was Sarazen. He did it in 1935. This was when the tournament was held for the second time. It wasn't called the Masters then. He won the Augusta National Invitation Tournament. Players didn't get green jackets until 1949. The special dinner for winners didn't start until 1952.

McIlroy is the only player who won the last game at the Masters. This tournament is special because it is always in the same place.

To understand how great this achievement is, think about the famous golfers who are at the top and the famous golfers who are not.

Sam Snead has won 82 PGA Tour tournaments. This is the most wins ever. Phil Mickelson has won more than McIlroy, but he has not won the U.S. Open. The U.S. Open is a very important tournament.

Tom Watson achieved 39 victories on the PGA Tour and secured eight major championships. Many consider Palmer to be the most influential figure in modern golf. However, neither of them ever won the PGA Championship.

McIlroy started to think if he would be one of the good players who don't quite win the biggest prizes. Winning the Masters changes that for him. Now we will see how much more he can achieve.