What Rory McIlroy said about Tiger Woods immediately after winning his first major championship back in 2011 at the US Open

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Rory McIlroy has now followed in the footsteps of his idol Tiger Woods, having won The Masters at Augusta National.

McIlroy received congratulations from Woods after his success at The Masters, a tournament the American has won five times in his career.

The Northern Irishman has also emulated Woods by winning the career grand slam, with titles at all four major championships.

Another player to have achieved the feat, Gary Player sent his congratulations to McIlroy after his victory on Sunday.

It arrived 11 years after his most recent major championship win at the 2014 PGA Championship, an event McIlroy has triumphed at twice.

How Rory McIlroy tried to copy Tiger Woods en route to 2011 US Open win

But his first success came at the 2011 US Open, after which McIlroy was asked how and why he was trying to emulate Woods at Congressional Country Club.

“Just growing up and watching him, watching him dominate at The Masters at ’97, watching him dominate at Pebble in 2000 and St. Andrews,” said McIlroy.

READ MORE: Rory McIlroy did exactly what Tiger Woods would have on Masters Sunday and Bryson DeChambeau can have no complaints

“And just trying to go out there with the same intensity that he has, and the same… no lead is big enough. That’s all I was trying to do.

“I was trying to go bogey-free today, which didn’t work for me. I missed the putt at 12, which I was quite annoyed at.

“I don’t know if he went bogey-free at Pebble on the last day. I’m not too sure. I was trying to go out and trying to make no mistakes, and really not give anyone a chance to catch me.”

How Rory McIlroy addressed ‘natural’ Tiger Woods comparisons after first major title

McIlroy is doing a fine job of trying to keep tabs with Woods in terms of major success, but he has a very long way to go to catch the legendary figure.

Sitting behind only the 18 wins of Jack Nicklaus, Woods has 15 major titles to his name, most recently triumphing at The Masters in 2019.

READ MORE: Bob Rotella suggests what Rory McIlroy is hoping to do next this year after claiming his first Masters title

McIlroy meanwhile emerged victorious at the PGA Championship in 2012 and 2014, having also taken The Open Championship title in 2014.

And despite being only 22 and only just winning his first major in 2011, McIlroy was forced to discuss talk of Woods comparisons at Congressional.

Also asked if he thought the legend was at home in Florida watching the US Open that year, the Northern Irishman said: “I think it’s… when you win a major quite early in your career, everyone is going to draw comparisons, it’s natural.

“But I don’t know, I know he doesn’t watch that much golf on TV. Maybe he saw a couple of shots here and there.

“But it would just be nice obviously for him to be healthy again and get his knee and his Achilles in shape and be back out on the golf course, because he does bring a little something extra to tournaments. He’s Tiger Woods. I’m just happy to be sitting here with the trophy that has his name on it.”