Here we go again. That inescapable feeling engulfed Rory McIlroy's fans during a Masters Sunday they wanted to watch through their fingers at certain points.
A nightmare start saw the nervous 35-year-old from Northern Ireland overhauled by nearest rival Bryson DeChambeau at the top of the leaderboard in a three-shot swing in the opening two holes.
Then, after recovering to retake a three-shot lead with six holes left, McIlroy threatened to blow his chance yet again.
Those willing him to win wondered if he was fumbling another golden chance to finally land the prize which had long eluded him.
The rollercoaster nature of his triumph, secured eventually at the first play-off hole, was essentially a microcosm of a career which has provided exhilarating highs and devastating lows.
What his supporters had forgotten - understandably given the scar tissue they also had developed from his myriad near misses - was a very different McIlroy had emerged at Augusta National this week.
A mature McIlroy. A calmer McIlroy. A patient McIlroy.
Most importantly, perhaps, a McIlroy who has learned how to love himself again on the course after having his heart bitterly broken by the sport he adores.
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'Rory found out how unbelievably tough he is'
"At a certain point in life, someone doesn't want to fall in love because they don't want to get their heart broken," the world number two said in an illuminating pre-tournament news conference on Tuesday.
"Instinctually as human beings we hold back sometimes because of the fear of getting hurt, whether that's a conscious decision or subconscious decision.
"I think once you go through that, once you go through those heartbreaks - as I call them - you get to a place where you remember how it feels.
"You wake up the next day and you're like, 'life goes on, it's not as bad as I thought it was going to be'."
Mending his forlorn heart has built a resilience which helped McIlroy to execute special shots shortly after tough psychological moments on his path to Masters glory.
It has enabled the boy from Holywood to eventually achieve golfing immortality.
On Sunday, he roared back again to win the Green Jacket and become only the sixth man in 90 years of the four modern majors to win the career Grand Slam.
What makes his achievement even more remarkable is getting there following a tumultuous 11-year journey since his previous major win.
"It was maybe one of the greatest performances ever, with so much pressure on him," McIlroy's sports psychologist Bob Rotella told BBC Radio 5 Live.
"What Rory is going to be so proud of is that he found out how unbelievably tough he is."
