‘Oh, he necked it’ - the immortal words that followed one of Rory McIlroy’s most iconic shots.
Great commentary has accompanied many legendary shots down the years, but Nick Faldo was left a little red-faced after this call.
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McIlroy headed to the 2014 PGA Championship at Valhalla as the clear favourite having won The Open just weeks before.
On the hunt for his fourth major title, he entered Sunday’s final round in Louisville, Kentucky with a one shot lead over Bernd Wiesberger and with a star-studded pack chasing him.
McIlroy begun poorly, falling from the lead early with two bogeys in his first six holes as Phil Mickelson, Rickie Fowler and Henrik Stenson piled on the pressure.
The Northern Irishman birdied the par-5 seventh and then put the hammer down on the tenth hole with a stunning approach shot that has become part of golfing folklore.
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McIlroy hit an amazing 283 yard 3-wood to six foot and duly putted in for eagle.
He has hit a plethora of stunning shots during his glittering career but that strike will go down as one of his very best – even if he slightly mishit it.
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Faldo, a six-time major winner himself, was in the commentary booth for the final round of the 2014 PGA Championship.
And as McIlroy made contact with his 3-wood, ‘oh, he necked it’ was the disparaging assessment from Faldo.
Quickly learning that the shot was nigh-on perfect, Faldo changed his tune.
“Is that an intentional runner? Oh, it’s going to get there, excuse me, look at this one! My apologies for calling it a neck, wow," he added.
That eagle inspired McIlroy to victory as he held off Mickelson to win by one stroke, ending the championship in near-complete darkness.
The images of McIlroy lifting the Wanamaker Trophy with cameras flashing through the gloom is now the stuff of legend.
And that 3-wood on ten was the shot that propelled him to major glory again.
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He said at the time: “The eagle on 10 was massive.
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“I started the round very tentatively. I just didn’t really have it. Sort of just trying to get through the first few holes making pars while everyone else was attacking, so that wasn’t good.
“I was paying attention to what was going on. I didn’t want them getting too far ahead of me.
“The eagle on 10 just changed everything.
“I hit 3-wood from I think it was 284 yards total. The ball flight was probably around 30 feet lower than I intended. And the line of the shot was probably around 15 yards left of where I intended.
“It was lucky, it really was. You need a little bit of luck in major championships to win and that was my lucky break.”
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McIlroy, of course, has been stuck on four majors ever since and returns to Valhalla this week hoping to finally end his drought.
He has won his last two events, claiming victory alongside good friend Shane Lowry at the Zurich Classic last month before a superb win at the Wells Fargo Championship last time out.
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He’s in fine form and believes ‘the stars are aligning a little bit’ as he searches for major win number five in Kentucky.
Who knows, maybe a timely shank would come in handy down the stretch on Sunday evening…