Rory McIlroy says he feels he weathered everything Augusta could throw at him in his Masters victory last year as he shapes up for the defence of his crown.
For the first time in over a decade, McIlroy arrives at Augusta not weighed down by angst as to whether he can complete the career Grand Slam, having achieved the feat in impossibly dramatic fashion with a play-off victory over Justin Rose last April.
The Down golfer briefly looked like he was cantering to victory when he momentarily opened up a five-stroke lead after birdieing the 10th on Sunday, however things took a wildly different turn after a botched third shot at the famous 13th hole.
Memorably, Padraig Harrington's first Open Championship victory in Carnoustie in 2007 was achieved in similarly hair-raising fashion, when he survived a double-bogey at the 72nd hole to return and win the title in a play-off.
By contrast, when Harrington returned to defend the championship successfully, at Royal Birkdale the following year, he enjoyed an almost serene march to victory on Sunday, winning by four strokes.
When asked whether he felt he worked out whether to win around Augusta in "trauma free" fashion, a relaxed McIlroy reflected that he felt he survived whatever the course could hit him with.
"The one thing I do know is there's not much more that this golf course can throw at me and I've still been able to come out the other side of it with a green jacket," McIlroy told RTÉ Sport's Greg Allen.
"So I feel like when I play here, I'm prepared for everything that it's going to throw at me because I feel like I've seen everything that it can throw at me.
"And that gives me a certain level of comfort going into the week as well.
"It's amazing to feel relaxed and not that angst that I felt leading into the Masters each and every year.
"But then at the same time, there's a difference between being relaxed and being complacent. And I don't want to be complacent whatsoever.
"So I think to not have that complacency, you still need a slight edge."
McIlroy acknowledged that he struggled for motivation in the aftermath of last year's Augusta.
He failed to contend at the PGA Championship at a course - Quail Hollow - where he had boasted a stellar record over the years and subsequently missed the cut at the Canadian Open.
"I've always needed something, whatever that is, to strive towards," McIlroy says.
"And I think everyone saw that for the first couple of months after I won the Masters last year, I struggled to sort of find my feet again and get that motivation.
"But 12 months on, reflecting on that a lot and thinking about the next 10 years of my career, what do I want that to look like? What excites me? What motivates me?
"Those are the questions that I had to ask myself over the past 12 months.
"And I'm excited I get another opportunity to win another green jacket. I said in the press conference, I've probably got 10 realistic chances at winning this tournament again.
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"And I'm determined to make every one of those 10 count.
"I know that I still have time and I still have opportunities. And these are the tournaments that excite me and still keep me going because I need that. I need that drive and those goals to stay motivated and stay focused.
"And if the majors can't do that, then nothing can."
McIlroy has had a slow start to the year, a second placed finish at the Genesis Invitational being followed by a withdrawal from the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Bay Hill, induced by a back injury which also affected his defence of his Players Championship crown in March.
"Certainly, I'm a little light on form and now I've had three weeks off, which I think has been a good opportunity to address the back issue, and to do some work on my game.
"Michael Bannon [his coach] was out for 10 days in Florida and we did some good work, played a lot of golf, made a few trips up here [Augusta].
"So preparation-wise, I feel like I'm in a good spot. Now it's just about going out there and executing."
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