Rory McIlroy says he has been touched by how his journey to winning the career Grand Slam has resonated with people from “all walks of life” as he revealed he spoke with two US presidents after his Masters victory.

McIlroy returns to action this week as he defends the Zurich Classic of New Orleans title with Shane Lowry.

During a trip back to Northern Ireland to visit his parents and long-time coach Michael Bannon, McIlroy said he reflected on the “magnitude” of his achievement of becoming the sixth man to win all four majors.

“I spoke to two presidents the day after which was pretty cool,” said the world number two.

“Just people reaching out from all walks of life, whether it be sports, entertainment, culture, just all of it. People that you would never even think that would watch golf or would know what’s going on, that was very humbling.”

Having won the men’s game’s three other majors – US Open, Open Championship and US PGA Championship – by the end of 2014, McIlroy had to wait 11 years before joining Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as Grand Slam winners.

“I think people can see themselves in the struggle at times and everything you try to put in to getting the best out of yourself in that journey.

“I think people watching someone finally get it done, something they’ve been trying to do for a decade-plus, that’s why I think it resonated with a lot of people.”