At last. Rory McIlroy finally banished his demons, ended his long wait for victory in the Masters, surviving a rollercoaster final round and play-off against Justin Rose to come through the Augusta chaos with the Green jacket.

On the face of it, it didn't need to be so difficult. As his playing partner, Bryson DeChambeau melted away in Georgia, McIlroy, when all was said and done, ultimately just needed to hit even par for the day to finally become he sixth man to complete golf's grand slam. But after over a decade without a major championship to his name, that was never going to be the way for the 35-year-old Northern Irishman.