Rory McIlroy admits the mistake he made after his first Masters win he made sure to avoid this year

“I celebrated, I had a good time. But I’ve been practicing for the last 10 days, and there’s still a lot of golf left this season and I feel like I’m in such a good spot that I don’t want to waste a couple months of the season like I did last year. I’ve enjoyed it, absolutely, but I feel like it’s time to lock back in.”

Rory McIlroy compares his two Masters victories

McIlroy would have had a completely unique perspective as he drove down Magnolia Lane this year as the defending champion.

All of that pressure that had built up, particularly since his collapse in the final round in 2011, had disappeared. So it should have come as no surprise when he managed to win for a second time.

He went on to explain the difference in his emotions following both of his two Masters wins.

“I don’t think anything will ever touch last year. It’s 17 years you’re waiting to do this thing. You get to the point where you wonder if it’s ever going to happen. And then just the emotion, I don’t think anything will top the euphoria of it all last year,” he said.

“But I think this year was validation. I proved last year that I could do it at this place. And then I go back and arguably without my best stuff, I built a really big lead over the first two days, but to get it done in the manner in which I did it, lost a lead on Sunday, came back, played really solid to get it done, I think validation on my part that this is where I should be, this is the level I should be operating at.”

For a long time it appeared that McIlroy would never win The Masters, despite clearly having the game to thrive around Augusta National.

The pressure was getting to be too much. But now that the shackles have been removed, it would be a surprise if McIlroy ended his career with just two Green Jackets.