Rory McIlroy once claimed ‘the best golf shot’ of his career came in a 2008 playoff he ended up losing

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A highlight reel containing the best shots of Rory McIlroy’s career would be quite spectacular to watch, with the Northern Irishman arguably the most naturally talented player to come along since Tiger Woods was at his peak.

Rory McIlroy has lifted five major titles while he has won 24 events on the PGA Tour across his career. It would not be a surprise to see the 36-year-old secure a seventh Race to Dubai crown later this year.

McIlroy is someone who can produce sheer magic out of nothing. The shot McIlroy hit on 15 in the final round of The Masters earlier this year was almost immediately added to the pantheon of iconic moments on Augusta National’s hallowed grounds.

But it is a shot which would have attracted a lot less attention which McIlroy once picked out as the best of his career in an interview in 2014.

Rory McIlroy once picked out what he thought was the best shot of his career

By the 2014 Ryder Cup, McIlroy was a four-time major champion. It seemed to be a matter of time until he secured the green jacket and completed the Career Grand Slam.

However, when asked that year by Golfing World for the best shot of his career, McIlroy overlooked anything he did at the likes of Congressional, Kiawah Island, Royal Liverpool or Valhalla. Instead, he picked out a moment which came before he had even won on the European Tour for the first time.

“The best golf shot of my career is probably the second shot that I played on the 18th hole in a playoff at the Hong Kong Open in 2008. I hadn’t won on tour at this stage and I was in a playoff with Francesco Molinari and Lin Wen-tang. It was the second playoff hole,” he said.

“The first playoff hole, Lin Wen-tang had hit it from the trees onto the green, hit it close and made birdie. And I was on the fairway and made birdie, so we went and played the hole again. This time, I was the one that hit it in the left trees and he hit it on the fairway. I had I think maybe 130 yards to the pin, but I was right behind a tree and needed to aim it at the third green – which is maybe 50 yards right of the 18th green – and just hook a sand wedge as much as I could.

“And it was getting dark, there was flashes in the cameras. It was a great atmosphere, it’s probably one of the best atmospheres I’ve ever played in. I had nothing to lose. I ended up pulling this shot off and bent it 40 yards, started at the third green, hooked round onto the 18th green and at least gave myself a chance to extend the playoff.

“It ended up that Lin Wen-tang birdied the hole and I didn’t, so he ended up winning the playoff, but it was one of those shots that if you put 100 balls down, you probably couldn’t pull off again.”

Rory McIlroy’s surprisingly poor playoff record on the DP World Tour

It may surprise some to know that McIlroy has a very disappointing playoff record on the DP World Tour.

The occasion got to McIlroy at the 2008 Omega European Masters, with the 19-year-old missing a short birdie putt on the 72nd hole to win before losing to Jean-François Lucquin.

His defeat to Lin came just over two months later.

McIlroy had to wait until 2019 for his first playoff win in a DP World Tour sanctioned event, as he edged out Xander Schauffele to win the WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai.

And of course, the second playoff win came up against Justin Rose as he finally got across the line at The Masters.

Given everything that has happened over the last decade, it would be fascinating to know just where that shot in 2008 now ranks in McIlroy’s mind. It is hard to imagine that many players would have been able to produce that moment of magic as they looked to win as a professional for the first time.