Augusta Masters: Emotional Rory McIlroy Says Green Jacket Validates Years Of Frustration

An emotional Rory McIlroy said his remarkable victory at the Masters made years of heartbreaking near-misses worth it, after beating Justin Rose in a play-off. (More Sports News)

McIlroy held his nerve to become just the sixth golfer in history to win a career Grand Slam on Sunday, following in the footsteps of Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods. 

But he had to do it the hard way.

A stunning wobble midway through the Northern Irishman's final round allowed Rose – playing ahead of him – into the race, with McIlroy having led by five after back-to-back birdies on the 9th and 10th.

And even after a gorgeous iron on the penultimate hole allowed McIlroy to approach the last a shot ahead, he almost threw it all away, finding the bunker from the middle of the fairway. 

After escaping the sand, McIlroy missed a short-range putt to win it and wore a look of devastation as he was forced into a play-off. 

And he admits he started to wonder if he would ever don the Green Jacket, telling Sky Sports: "It feels incredible. This is my 17th time here, and I started to wonder if it would ever be my time. 

"I think the last 10 years coming here with the burden of the Grand Slam on my shoulders and trying to achieve it... I'm sort of wondering what we're all going to talk about going into next year's Masters! 

"But I'm absolutely honoured and thrilled and just so proud to be able to call myself a Masters champion.

"I would say it was 14 years in the making, from going out with a four-shot lead in 2011, feeling like I could have done it there. 

"There was a lot of pent-up emotion that just came out on that 18th green. A moment like that makes all the years and all the close calls worth it."

Between 2011 and 2014, McIlroy became just the fourth player in a century to win four major titles before turning 25, after Nicklaus, Woods and Bobby Jones.

But a victory at Augusta National evaded him and almost 11 years of pain across all majors followed, with the Northern Irishman managing 21 top-10 finishes in his last 38 majors without getting over the line.

Perhaps his most agonising collapse in that spell came at last year's U.S. Open, as two missed putts from within four feet on the final three holes saw him throw victory away.

It looked as though McIlroy had replicated that on multiple occasions on Sunday, but he produced some of his best shots with his back against the wall.

"It's so hard to stay patient. It's so hard to keep coming back every year and trying your best and not being able to get it done," McIlroy said.

"There was points on the back nine today, I thought, 'have I let this slip again?' But again, I responded with some clutch shots when I needed to, and I'm really proud of myself for that."