Rory McIlroy needs to back himself more and attack the majors from the first day, according to RTÉ Golf analyst Gary Murphy.
McIlroy showed his best qualities on Sunday at Augusta as he got around in 64 to equal the joint lowest final round score recorded at the course in Georgia.
But, after three rounds in the 70s on the previous days, it wasn't enough to see him catch runaway winner Scottie Sheffler.
The result means that the Co. Down golfer's quest to claim a career grand slam of majors will go on into 2023, with McIlroy calling Sunday's chip in at 18 one of the best moments of his career and vowing to keep on trying to finally claim a green jacket afterwards.
For Murphy though, who was speaking on RTÉ's Game On, it was a case of the former world number one selling himself short in the early rounds to the detriment of his chances of winning the tournament.
"He was so exciting last night making that charge," he said.
"He alluded to it after his first two rounds that he was happy with his performance because he was trying not to play himself out of the tournament.
"The problem was that Scottie Sheffler was playing phenomenal golf with a five shot lead on the field through 36 holes. Sheffler has gone out with an aggressive attitude.
"Maybe at the PGA [Championship] next month he could try to go out and be aggressive in the first round. The greatness of yesterday is that there were no mistakes in it; it's very hard to make no mistakes.
"He's had plenty of rounds where he's had five or six birdies but he's mixed it up with the same amount of bogeys.
"At this stage he's probably trying everything but it appears that his best chance to win a major is to be three or four coming into the final round, and he can have a charge at it.
"He can take a lot away from it but I really think he needs to be a lot more ruthless in his early rounds. Try to get that lead and maintain that ruthlessness for four days.
"It's very hard when you're getting nervous because you get protective, so you've got to find that balance. But it was just brilliant to see him in full flow last night."
"This Tournament never ceases to amaze... it's the happiest I've ever been on a golf course." #themasters pic.twitter.com/h3geO8qFJS
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Compatriot Shane Lowry was a couple of shots further back in a tie for third place.
The Offaly man showed what he was capable of, managing to land 15 birdies, as well as an eagle, over the four days. But he mixed in too many wayward holes, with a triple bogey on Sunday, and a double bogey on Thursday ultimately amounting to the difference between himself and Sheffler in the end.
"Even though he has won a major, he hasn't been a consistent top 10 player in the world, so it's a bit harsh to judge him on winning majors," Murphy pointed out.
"If he could pick off another major it would be a phenomenal achievement. It's his best ever performance there, and he showed a lot of really good stuff there yesterday.
"Four was a disaster and he got the maximum penalty on it. But to come back from a triple bogey, when he was realistically playing for second... it was an excellent performance from Lowry.
"He's playing the golf of his life. An exciting time for him and he's back up to 30 in the world."
For Seamus Power, who was playing at his first major, Murphy added: "He had an excellent week.
"People need to support him. There's been a thing with Seamus that we don't know him, or is he Irish-American. He's as proud an Irishman as you can get.
"He's comfortably in the upper echelons of the sport at the moment and he proved that at the weekend with a very solid first major appearance."
