Every significant golf event held at Valhalla

• Winner: Rory McIlroy
• Score: 16 under
• Runner-up: Phil Mickelson

At the time Rory McIlroy tapped in his putt on the 72nd hole of the 2014 PGA Championship, it appeared the golf world had its most dominant player since Woods in his prime. It was McIlroy’s third win in as many starts, which also included the Open Championship and a World Golf Championship.

His Valhalla conquest was his second PGA Championship in three years, giving McIlroy four major titles at just 25 years old; the only others who had accomplished that feat were three of the game’s biggest names in Woods, Bobby Jones and Jack Nicklaus.

But since that victory, despite oh-so-many close calls, McIlroy has yet to win another major championship.

And on that day nearly a decade ago, as he raced to beat the darkness, McIlroy had to earn it.

McIlroy held off charges from Phil Mickelson (who shot a final-round 66, two strokes better than McIlroy) and Rickie Fowler (who tied for fifth or better in all four majors that year without a win). Those three, as well as Henrik Stenson, had at least a share of the lead on the back nine during the final round.

A 10-foot birdie putt on 17 extended McIlroy’s lead to two shots with one hole to play, but then controversy ensued: He hit his tee shot on the 18th while the pairing ahead, Fowler and Mickelson, still were in the fairway. Neither Fowler nor Mickelson could match McIlroy at 16 under.

As dusk set in, the Northern Irishman cemented his status as the world’s top-ranked golfer.

“I think I showed a lot of guts out there to get the job done,” McIlroy said after the win. “Today wasn’t easy. The guys came at me pretty quickly. I was waiting for something to click.”