LOUISVILLE, Kentucky -- The last time Rory McIlroy walked the 18th fairway of Valhalla Golf Club, it was a race against time in the final round of the 2014 PGA Championship.
After rallying from a 3-stroke deficit at the turn to chase down Rickie Fowler, Phil Mickelson and Henrik Stenson, McIlroy hit a 9-iron out of a fairway bunker to 10 feet on the 17th hole and made birdie to take a 2-stroke lead.
With darkness closing in fast following a nearly two-hour torrential rain delay, Mickelson and Fowler agreed to allow McIlroy and his playing partner, Austria's Bernd Wiesberger, to tee off before they reached their tee shots in the fairway, essentially playing the final hole as a foursome.