McIlroy entered the final round at Augusta in 2011 sitting four shots clear at the top, but endured a horrid Sunday, shooting an eight-over par 80 which sent him crashing down the leaderboard, ultimately finishing T15th. The 35-year-old found himself in the same promising position last month and while he had to endure a rollercoaster of emotions, including a dramatic play-off against Justin Rose, McIlroy got over the line to complete a career grand slam. He was able to block out the bad memories from years gone by, even after starting with a double bogey and seeing his lead evaporate, and says a different approach helped him achieve his dreams. "I approached that Sunday a little differently to 2011 when I first had an opportunity,” said McIlroy on ‘The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon’. “I had a two shot lead and I thought if I could go out and shoot four-under par that I’ll probably win the tournament. "It was a way for me to make everything else irrelevant...I’m not going to look at what my playing partner is doing, not going to look at the leaderboard, I’m going to get into my own world. "I knew if I shot four-under par I was going to win the Masters. Even when I doubled the first I knew I could still shoot four-under par, I knew I could do that, so that was the whole mindset behind it. "I felt I lost the Masters in 2011 because I started to look around, to look at what the other guys on the course were doing, looked at the leaderboard and played math in my head. "You can’t control what they do, that’s golf. It’s not like you’re on the football field and you can tackle someone...you can’t control what they do, but they also can’t control what you do so if you give yourself a target or objective, that’s all you can do. "If you achieve that objective then hopefully this thing (green jacket) is the result.” McIlroy admits even he started to question if his chance to win the Masters had passed him by after so many close calls – he recorded seven top-10 finishes, including second behind Scottie Scheffler in 2022, before claiming his first green jacket. "It was my 17th time playing the tournament,” added McIlroy. “On my third time back in 2011, I had a four-shot lead going into the final round and wasn’t able to win. "It had been 14 years since that, 11 years trying to achieve the career grand slam and I would go back every year trying to put my positive hat on and go with a good attitude. "Every time I would leave on that Sunday night and it didn’t happen...you start to think is it ever going to be your time? Did I miss it? Did I lose my opportunity? "There’s a good message in there about never giving up, keep coming back, being strong, resilient and that patience paid off.”