McIlroy makes major warning after Masters triumph
It was nearly 11pm when Rory McIlroy finally emerged from the Augusta National's Grill Room still clad in his Masters Green Jacket. Four hours earlier he had become only the fourth man to retain the title. From that moment he had been through a whirlwind of presentations, interviews and glad-handing with Augusta members.
But the smile was still as broad as it had been when he tapped in to seal his triumph at a place that, for him, used to be a field of golfing disappointments. As he sat for his final round of questioning he laughed readily and reflected on the fact that it can get no better than to have the chairman of the club put the jacket back on to his shoulders. Twelve months earlier it had been Scottie Scheffler who had done the honours but on this occasion there was no beaten champion from the previous year.
Tradition dictated that Augusta boss Fred Ridley was given the task. "It's pretty rare," McIlroy told BBC Sport. "We had to practise it before we went into Butler Cabin because he'd never done it before.
"I said at the end of my speech last year, I'd hopefully see everyone next year where I'm putting the Green Jacket back on myself. I wasn't quite correct there but the next best thing is having the chairman put it on. "That was that was the goal this week when I drove down Magnolia Lane with the Green Jacket.
I wanted to drive back up Magnolia Lane leaving with the Green Jacket again because I've got used to seeing it in my wardrobe. " McIlroy joined Jack Nicklaus, Sir Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods as the only golfers to successfully defend a Masters title. And there was a touching exchange with Faldo after the presentation of the jacket on Sunday evening.