McIlroy is certain to receive a hero’s welcome and McDowell feels the Co Down star will tackle the event in July with a renewed freedom after finally landing his fifth major and completing a career grand slam. “We're all looking at Portrush,” McDowell told BBC Sport NI. “The Open in July. For him to go there. What would that not be like? This will certainly lift a huge weight off his shoulders and he can now be back to being loose and free, and the bouncy Rory McIlroy that we all know and love. “I don't think proud even covers it, it is unfathomable what he has accomplished and he is on the wall of the greatest ever which Northern Ireland have produced. “The Open at Portrush will be special and a celebration of what he has achieved.” McDowell believes the “floodgates” could open for McIlroy in the wake of his Augusta triumph and said he wasn’t surprised by the 35-year-old’s emotional reaction after he holed the winning putt on Sunday in a thrilling play-off victory over Justin Rose. “It was a microcosm of everything he's gone through at Augusta over the years," said McDowell. “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.” McDowell, who joined the LIV Golf ranks, admits that McIlroy’s achievements have propelled him into a different “stratosphere” in Irish golf’s hall of fame. “Myself and Darren [Clarke] and Padraig [Harrington] and Shane [Lowry], we all feel very proud of what we've accomplished and what we've done for Ireland in golfing terms but Rory is in a different stratosphere with what he has accomplished in the game and what he continues to accomplish,” he said. Meanwhile, world number one Scottie Scheffler says it was “really cool” to watch McIlroy complete the career grand slam at close quarters. By tradition Scheffler, as the outgoing champion, was the man to present McIlroy with his coveted green jacket in the Butler Cabin at Augusta National. Scheffler, speaking at a press conference ahead of this week’s RBC Heritage tournament at Harbour Town, said: “It was cool to be able to see Rory get the job done. “Definitely, from the outside, it looked a lot more like relief than anything. Rory has accomplished everything in the game of golf, and that was really the last thing for him to accomplish. “The guy has won the FedEx Cup, The Players (Championship), all four majors. Maybe the only other thing would be the Olympics, what he would want to win. “So for him, it was really cool for me to be there in that moment. He’s a good friend of mine. To be able to congratulate him and just see the joy on him and his family was really cool.”