Rory McIlroy wins the Irish Open with an all-time shot at the 18th hole

Using preferred lies in May at the Irish Open is not exactly some heavyweight bout, but forgive us for dancing around the house while watching Rory McIlroy close his home event on Sunday morning.

McIlroy started the day at the K Club in Dublin with a three-shot lead, scuffed that margin away to Russell Knox and then closed with some all-time haymakers to get his first win in just more than a year. The final three holes were vintage McIlroy, the best at his best and a reminder of why we’re so in love with the idea of what he can do, and why that’s frustrated us at times in recent months.

Although every step along the final three holes was enrapturing, it climaxed with the perfect kind of Rory brilliance -- an approach shot from a mile away that goes right up the chute.

There aren’t enough superlatives to describe this laser from 252 yards fired into the damn heart.

Watch it. Over. And over. And over.

McIlroy’s foundation had become the host of this Irish Open and he’d said it was an event that would “give him chills” to win. He had missed the cut in the last two years, for whatever reason -- poor form, bad bounces, the distractions of also hosting. It’s not close to a major but the 3-under stretch over the final three holes was a stripe show that is a warning shot for the rest of golf.

Prior to that three-hole sprint, McIlroy looked frustrated again as he slowly gave away a Sunday lead in miserable weather. The three-shot cushion became a one-shot deficit to Knox before the Ulsterman flipped it again on the par-5 16th. This was another fairway wood, and although it didn’t drop on top of the flagstick like at the 18th, it changed the dynamic in that final group with Knox.

270 yards. All carry. Thanks.

Rory would birdie, Knox would bogey and the two-shot swing would be all that was needed. Golf Channel’s Frank Nobilo said on the broadcast afterwards that you’d be hard pressed to find a shot that will change the course of someone’s year so much.

So it was the moonshot at the 16th that will get less play but could end up being the turning point of his season. The eagle at the last was just a little gravy, the kind of extra Rory punch that made us swoon two years ago.

McIlroy will donate the entirety of his winner’s check to his Rory Foundation. The cash was obviously secondary -- he doesn’t need that anymore and he’s told us as much. Getting a win after a frustrating first quarter of the year had to be an enormous relief and winning on home soil made it that much sweeter. McIlroy wiped his eyes and was emotional, something we don’t get much from him, as he walked up the 18th and then tapped in that final putt.

Rory ended 2015 saying there was no reason he could not get back to No. 1 before the Masters. He’s said he was “close” but it didn’t go as planned, as he watched Jordan Spieth start the year hot, keep his No. 1 perch and whip him at Augusta. Jason Day, who hits it just as far as Rory, then took over, winning three times, including a WGC and The Players to tighten his grip on the No. 1 ranking.

Now we have Rory winning with his trademark brilliance just seven days after Day’s win at TPC Sawgrass and hours before Spieth goes out in the final Sunday pairing of his hometown event. This is why we were so excited for this year, and Rory at his peak remains the best possible fulfillment of all that hype and anticipation.

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