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As CNN looks back at the highs of the 2022 golf season, where better to start than possibly the highest shot of the year? In February, Jordan Spieth quite literally played like his life depended on it, hitting a shot from the edge of a 70-foot cliff face at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
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Sam Ryder sent the TPC Scottsdale crowds into raptures after sinking a hole-in-one at the WM Phoenix Open in February.
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It was a celebration befitting of the finish at February's Saudi International, as Harold Varner III marked his breathtaking, event-winning 92-foot eagle putt with a display of pure passion.
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All eyes were on one man at The Masters in April as Tiger Woods -- who suffered a serious car crash injury in February 2021 -- sealed a remarkable return to the sport by making the cut at Augusta.
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But it was Scottie Scheffler who would ultimately take the limelight at The Masters, as the World No. 1 secured a three-stroke victory to clinch his first major crown and a new wardrobe addition -- the fabled green winner's jacket.
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Clinching her first LPGA Tour win and first career major at The Chevron Championship in April, Jennifer Kupcho celebrated in the only way a champion can at Westin Mission Hills: with a jump into Poppie's Pond.
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Justin Thomas is congratulated by his father Mike after defying the odds to win the PGA Championship in May. The American completed the largest 54-hole comeback in major history to win in Tulsa and seal his second career major.
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Minjee Lee captured a historic victory at the US Women's Open in June. The Australian broke the 72-hole championship scoring record en route to clinching a $1.8 million prize pot, the largest women's golf payout in history at the time.
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Matt Fitzpatrick won his first career major in dramatic fashion at the US Open in June, as the Englishman pipped Scottie Scheffler and Will Zalatoris by a sole stroke at Brookline. The win teed up emotional celebrations with caddie Billy Foster, who had never previously won a major in 40 years on the bag.
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Chun In-gee ended a four-year winless drought to lift the third major title of her career at the Women's PGA Championship in June.
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There were few dry eyes at the BMW International Open, as Haotong Li marked a cathartic triumph with a celebration of pure emotion. Previously without a win in four and a half years, the Chinese golfer had been considering quitting the sport before his win in Munich in June.
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Linn Grant is congratulated by boyfriend and caddie Pontus Samuelsson after winning June's Scandanavian Mixed event, a victory that saw her make history as the first-ever female winner on the DP World Tour.
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A tearful Tiger Woods was serenaded by the St. Andrews crowd during an emotional walk over the Old Course's iconic Swilcan Bridge and down the 18th fairway at The 150th Open in July. With the major not potentially returning to the famous Scottish venue until 2030, Woods later admitted it may have been his last Open championship on the course.
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Keeping it in the family, Brooke Henderson (right) won the second major of her career at the Evian Championship in July with her sister -- and long-time caddie -- Brittany by her side.
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A stunned Ashleigh Buhai is embraced by husband David after she lifted her first major title on her 221st career LPGA start at the Women's British Open in August.
Jared C. Tilton / Getty Images
He may have ended up on the losing side, but Tom Kim won hearts-a-plenty at The Presidents Cup in September. After sinking a birdie effort to win his second straight four-ball match, the rising star of South Korean golf celebrated with a Tiger Woods-esque roar of passion.
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In October, Rory McIlroy celebrated his second straight CJ Cup victory with Kyler Aubrey. A golf superfan with cerebral palsy, Aubrey is a regular face at PGA Tour events.
CNN  — 

Another day, another exhibit of mind-boggling golf wizardry from Rory McIlroy.

Even in the midst of an underwhelming opening round at the Waste Management Phoenix Open in Arizona on Thursday, the world No.1 found a way to add another slide to his near-endless highlight reel of remarkable shots.

Back-to-back bogeys either side of the turn at TPC Scottsdale had seen the Northern Irishman arrive at his 11th hole at one-over par, and his woes were immediately compounded when his booming, 337-yard tee drive went sailing over the path running down the right side of the fairway.

The ball’s final resting place, lodged in the dirt close to a metal fence, made for grim viewing. With seemingly minimal room to swing, most golfers would have likely just settled for getting back on the fairway.

But as he has shown time and time again, McIlroy is not most golfers. With a chop of his pitching wedge, the four-time major winner punched his shot through a corridor of spectators and trees, the ball settling on the green just over 40 feet from the hole.

Incredulous gasps from the onlooking crowd were mirrored on social media, with the PGA Tour tweeting a video of the shot captioned: “Are you kidding[?]”

“Rory McIlroy has just played a shot that I would have been fairly certain was impossible,” tweeted Sky Sports golf reporter Jamie Weir.

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McIlroy in action during the first round.

McIlroy subsequently tapped in for four to walk away with par, an outcome he was more than happy with given the precarious position he had found himself in.

“It looked like I didn’t have a backswing, but I didn’t realize the angle, like how far right the green actually was,” the 33-year-old told reporters.

“I got lucky with the tee shot that I had a swing, but I hit a great shot and was delighted to walk away with a par,” he added.

A fourth bogey of the day on his 16th hole saw McIlroy card a two-over 73, leaving him tied for 82nd and seven shots adrift of Canadian leading pair Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin, who impressed amid windy conditions in Scottsdale.

Having started 2023 with an emotionally charged victory at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, McIlroy is looking to extend a remarkable run of seven consecutive top four finishes across DP World Tour and PGA Tour events.

The world No. 1 is in the form of his career, and knows it. Asked ahead of the tournament if he feels like he is the best player in the world, McIlroy was succinct.

“Yes,” he replied.

Pushed to expand, McIlroy continued: “Because I do. I’m playing well. I feel like consistency-wise, I’ve been as good as I have been ever in my career.

“I said at the end of last year, I feel like as complete of a player as I ever have. If you just look at my statistical categories, there’s no real glaring weaknesses there. I’ve worked really hard on that, to try to become a more well-rounded player.”