Rory McIlroy reminded everyone just why he is the most box-office player in the world with a genuine shot of the year contender on Thursday.
World No.3 McIlroy hit one of the most extraordinary drives at the WGC-Dell Match Play in Austin to close out his pool match in epic fashion.
A minor change in equipment has already alleviated any fears about the sport's most destructive driver faltering ahead of the Masters in just under a fortnight.
Whilst wielding a new Scotty Cameron putter, McIlroy has also shortened the shaft on his TaylorMade Stealth 2 Plus driver, and the move is already paying off.
The Northern Irishman was searching for answers with driver problems as he looked fatigued missing the cut at The Players earlier this month, but appears to have found them with one mesmerising swing at the Austin Country Club.
He was one-up on American underdog Denny McCarthy on the 18th tee, needing just a half up the last to claim his second straight victory in his group stage match.
But McIlroy was not about to protect his lead, instead launching an arrow-straight drive on the 375-yard par 4 final hole to emphatically end world no.58 McCarthy's hopes.
With the wind helping, McIlroy's crushed drive carried an incredible 349 yards through the air, before rolling to just three feet from the hole.
McCarthy was forced to concede and McIlroy was left to revel in what is guaranteed to be one of the shots of the year at the most critical juncture in the match.
"That is incredible, absolutely incredible," Paul McGinley gushed on Sky Sports commentary.
Few would disagree with the former Ryder Cup captain, as the PGA Tour's official social media account shared "One of the greatest drives you will EVER see."
TaylorMade, McIlroy's official equipment provider, quickly made their mind up that he had just hit the shot of the year as the 33-year-old shook hands on a two-up victory.
McIlroy later admitted he even surpassed his own expectations as he "certainly didn't expect to fly it on the green."
He will play former Ryder Cup rival Keegan Bradley on Friday and will progress through to the knockout stages of the $20m tournament with victory over the American.
