There were tears from Bubba Watson two years ago when he won his first Masters and there were tears again on Sunday when he won for the second time.
But that is where the similarities end.
In 2012, the loose-limbed lefty was taken all the way to a playoff by Louis Oosthuizen before he carved a wonder shot out of the woods at the 10th on the second extra hole to win his first major.
This time around, he was three strokes clear emerging from the 13th at the end of Amen Corner and he still held that lead when he teed off at the 18th.
A perfect four-wood down the middle and a good approach onto the green and it was in the bag.
Asked which of his two wins he enjoyed the most, the 35-year-old Watson replied: “I feel a lot better (this time).
“The shot out of the woods made me famous, but this one was a lot better for me and my nerves, my family, probably on caddie Teddy (Scott).
“I know when Jordan (Spieth) missed on the last hole, and Teddy was helping me read — I said, ‘Read the putt, just help me.’
When he missed and he was tapping in, I went over to him (Scott) and I said, “I’m not very good at math, but we’ve got four putts, right?”
“I said, ‘All right. It’s a lot better for my nerves this way.'”
For all intents and purposes Sunday’s Masters finale boiled down to a matchplay faceoff between Watson and 20-year-old Spieth, the two men having shared the overnight lead at five under.
Matt Kuchar briefly joined them but fell away after four-putting the fourth and Swedish rookie Jonas Blixt never got close enough to apply any real pressure on the two leaders.
It could have gone either way, but a four-shot swing at the eighth and ninth, both of which Watson birdied and Spieth bogeyed, proved to be decisive to the outcome.
“Eight was a big swing,” Watson said. “I think he threeputted eight and nine and I birdied them both. It changed the momentum right there.
“And then I was just trying to hang on. I knew I had a couple of shots to play with. I knew 13 and 15 (par-fives) were still reachable for me, even though I didn’t play them the best I wanted to.
“I knew once the momentum switched it was a little bit in my favour. If you have the lead you always have a little advantage on everybody.”
The win caps a great return to form this year for the emotional Watson, who put golf on the back-burner following his first triumph in 2012 to spend more time with wife Angie and newly-adopted son Caleb.
Unlike in 2012, they were both there on Sunday to watch his second win and take part in the celebrations.
Next up for Watson will be the US Open in June and the British Open the following month as he tries to add to his haul of majors and then the Ryder Cup in Scotland in late September.
