RORY McIlroy didn't feel completely absolved as he stood behind Adam Scott to sign the winning scorecard.
Elation, relief and satisfaction all greeted his maiden win of 2013.
So too, guilt.
Sunday's breakthrough victory came at a heavy emotional cost for vanquished playing partner Adam Scott, who virtually conceded the Stonehaven Cup with a final hole meltdown.
"It was hard not to feel some sort of guilt the way I won it," McIlroy said.
"I knew what it meant and the way the tournament finished for him. Having a one shot lead going down the last and having it taken away at the end, it's tough.
"I've been in that position before and it's not nice."
Although Australians might remember McIlroy as the villain who gate crashed Scott's Triple Crown party, his affable and down-to-earth demeanour does not justify the tag.
Amid the teeth gnashing that accompanied Scott's string of lipped-out birdie putts, McIlroy quietly compiled a flawless six-under round of 66 in the face of two vile hecklers who yelled his surname in a condescension on the back nine.
An eagle sandwiched between two birdies wiped the four-shot overnight deficit, but Scott regained the ascendency on the ninth with a fortunate that birdie that was holed after his wayward drive rocketed off a cameraman and onto the fairway verge.
On the road home it was McIlroy who rode his luck, particularly after Scott missed consecutive chances to bury his rival on the 16th and 17th.
On the contrary, the 24-year-old was forced to fight hard to save par on both holes. The pressure was conducive to reviving his best golf, and there was no better example than when he stood over a four-metre birdie putt on the 18th before a 10,000-strong gallery silently wishing him the worst.
"I didn't think it was going to unfold the way it did, standing on the 18th tee," he said.
"The putt was just my routine. I didn't do anything differently. I didn't think, 'This is for the Australian Open or this is for my first win of the year'."
The two-time major winner admitted his own worst enemy has lurked within over the course of 2013, over-accentuating his barren stretch because of youthful impatience.
Legal conflicts with sponsors have also been a distraction, but yesterday's win provided some valuable perspective.
"I've not plummeted off the face of the Earth - I'm still number six in the world. That's not too bad," he said.
"It's frustrating to know the level of golf you can play and then not play at that level.
"I never lost belief. I never lost that aspect of it.
"What I do know is that golfers have long careers and I'm 24 years old. I can get a little impatient at times if I don't step back and take a look at the bigger picture."
In regards to his Australian Open experience that big picture now extends from a 17-year-old amateur who first contested the event at Royal Sydney in 2006. Yesterday's triumph on the same course made him champion, a reminder for all that things are never as bad as they might seem.
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