The shot that won Rory the Masters

The 12th hole at Augusta has been a place where plenty of Masters dreams go to die.

Seven years ago we watched contender after contender wilt on the short par-3 as Tiger Woods shot to the lead courtesy of a routine par. Ten years ago, Jordan Spieth's quest for a second straight Masters win was doused not once, but twice by Rae's Creek.

"Buddy, it seems like we're collapsing," Spieth famously said to his caddie Michael Greller in the moment.

Collapse at Augusta is something we've seen from Rory McIlroy over his career, but Sunday's trip to the historic hole wouldn't just end up being positive: it was arguably the most important shot he hit in the final round.

McIlroy walked onto the tee box clinging to a one-shot lead on four players, with Scottie Scheffler among those just two behind. As if the challenge wasn't hard enough, the wind started to gust as he approached his ball.

He backed off multiple times to judge the conditions, a move he learned during his first trip to the Masters.

"I played a practice round with Tom Watson in 2009 and he said to me on the 12th tee, he always waited until he felt where the wind should be, and then just hit it," McIlory said afterwards. "Just hit it as soon as you can, and that's what I did on 12."

The 9-iron soared over the bunker, cutting through the wind before bouncing toward the flag upon landing. It ended up just 6-feet-11 inches from the hole, the closest shot of the entire field on the day.

"I aimed it at the middle of the bunker, probably didn't anticipate it to drift as far right as it did, but that's why you give yourself a little margin for error," McIlroy admitted. "That was a really good golf shot at the right time and probably a golf shot I wouldn't have been able to hit yesterday if I didn't go to the range, and try to figure a few things out and neutralize the ball flight a little bit. Absolutely huge shot in the tournament."

What made the execution even more impressive is what we watched for 18 holes from McIlroy on Saturday. The defending champ saw a six-shot lead evaporate with some shockingly poor irons, finishing the day 53rd of 54 players in strokes gained: approach. A left miss was on repeat - including a wedge on 12 that eventually led to a bogey.

The emergency range session late Saturday night got his swing back on plane, and he executed some excellent iron shots to close the opening nine Sunday, and carded comfortable pars on the 10th and 11th to start the finishing stretch.

However, the 12th is a different beast given its place in Masters history, and almost every champion is required to rise to the occasion on their final trip to the 155-yard challenge. McIlroy did exactly that, and drilled the ensuing putt to reach 12-under and move two clear of the chase pack.

That total ended up being the winning number for McIlroy, as he became just the fourth man to ever win back-to-back Masters.