Shane Lowry told Erica Stoll that Rory McIlroy can now retire from golf after winning the Masters. The Irishman claims that the green jacket winner, with whom he shares a close relationship, had always said he would retire a ‘happy man’ if he ever triumphed at Augusta.

McIlroy won a thrilling play-off against Justin Rose to finally land the Masters and complete a Career Slam of all four of golf's major championships. The Northern Irishman celebrated with wife Stoll and their daughter Poppy afterwards. However, Stoll has already been told that her husband should retire 'now' by rival Lowry. McIlroy is said to have spent vast amounts of time thinking about winning the Masters during a decade-long wait for his fifth major.

“This means everything to him. It’s all he thinks about,” Lowry told the Golf Channel. “It’s all he talks about, all he thinks about. He always said to me he would retire a happy man if he won the green jacket. So I told Erica, ‘He can retire now’.

“He’s had a long ten years, 11 years. He’s had a lot of hurdles, he’s had a lot of moments to get back up from. It’s kind of a credit to him. It’s a sign or something for the rest of us to cling onto that no matter what happens, no matter how bad you feel, you just need to keep going, keep working hard and your day will come.”

Despite becoming only the sixth man to win all four majors, McIlroy will continue playing and has been backed by several pundits to win plenty more. However, he hinted that he will retire before he turns 50.

Speaking in March about the prospect of one day featuring on the Champions Tour for players aged over 50, he said: “Absolutely not. Look, I've said a lot of absolutes in my time that I've walked back [on], but I do not envision playing Champions Tour golf. Something has went terribly wrong if I have to compete at golf at 50.”

McIlroy has been in excellent form this year and claimed the £3.1m prize at Augusta. His next attempt at winning a major will come at the PGA Championship, which is scheduled to take place between May 15 and 18. He has won the tournament twice before.

Since winning the Masters, McIlroy has spent time at his Florida home and has now returned to Northern Ireland to celebrate with his extended family.