For years, McIlroy had faced questions over whether he could complete the career Grand Slam.

There had been missed opportunities to claim the iconic green jacket – most notably after an infamous final-round collapse in 2011.

Despite his talent and self belief, the 35-year-old admitted to wondering if he had missed his opportunity.

“You start to think if it is ever going to be your time,” he said.

“I think there’s a good message in there about never giving up and keep coming back.

“Be strong, be resilient and that patience paid off.”

The Northern Irishman held a two-shot lead going into the final round, and said he had learnt lessons from his 2011 collapse, when he let a four-stroke advantage slip away.

“I wanted to make everything else irrelevant. I’m not going to look at what my playing partner is doing, I’m not going to look at the leaderboard.

“I was going to try and get in my own world. If I can shoot four-under-par, I’m going to win the Masters.

“I felt like I lost the Masters in 2011 because I started to look around and started to do maths in my head.

“If you give yourself a target and objective, that’s all you can do.”