There had been doubts. McIlroy exuded serenity on the first two days as he surged into a record six-shot lead at the halfway stage, even though he was still far from his best off the tee.
The same issue caught up with him in Saturday’s third round when he could not take advantage of scoreable conditions and allowed the field to close the gap.
Like all great players, McIlroy ironed out his swing kinks and sacrificed distance with the driver for a greater accuracy which underpinned a gutsy one-under 71 in Sunday’s finale.
It would not be McIlroy at the Masters, though, if there wasn’t a huge dollop of drama.
He quickly dropped behind following a double-bogey on four and a bogey on six. But his resurgence underlined how Augusta no longer has a psychological hold on him as he roared back with successive birdies on seven and eight, then again on 12 and 13.
The fearless way which McIlroy audaciously attacked the pin at the iconic par-three 12th – the scene of many Masters meltdowns – was indicative of his freer mindset.
His ability to stay patient, solve problems and then play his game was the key as McIlroy joined Jack Nicklaus, Faldo and Tiger Woods as back-to-back winners.
Would McIlroy have been able to show the same resilience if he had not already claimed the Green Jacket? He did not think so.
Throughout the past year McIlroy has insisted how he was returning as a different player and a different man.
Over the past four days he has shown last year’s victory was truly transformative.
“It was a tough weekend but I’m so happy to hang in there and get the job done,” McIlroy said.
“I wanted to come back and prove last year wasn’t a fluke.”
