At the conclusion of the final round of The Players Championship Sunday Rory McIlroy and J.J. Spaun were tied at -12 and prepared for a restless night sleep followed by a 3-hole aggregate finish Monday morning.

When asked what he felt would be the key to a win in the playoff McIlroy said he felt it would come down to five swings. It would actually be settled by three, coming from a driver, a wedge and a 9-iron.

The playoff would consist of playing the par-5 16th, par-3 17th and the par-4 18th hole. McIlroy showed no nerves in pounding his tee shot 366-yards, leaving him a wedge away from the green. He would make 2-putt for birdie while Spaun had to settle for par.

Onto the signature island green the two would walk. McIlroy with honors selected a 9-iron, which he had practiced on the range for this particular shot. With the wind gusting in his face McIlroy lofted a three-quarter swing shot which found the center of the green. Cameras picked up Spaun glancing over to see what club McIlroy selected.

Spaun then went with an eight iron, which he later said he had practiced with on the range as well in preparation for the tee shot on 17. Spaun’s ball flew over the left side of the green into the water. Like his ball, his chance at a Players title sunk as he would wind up with a double bogey.

Both players would bogey the 18th, but for McIlroy it was a feeling of satisfaction that would follow as he joined a list of only eight golfers to hoist The Players Championship trophy twice. The fact that the victory for the Irishman came on St. Patrick’s Day was not lost on the champion.

“I’m unbelievably proud to win my second Players Championship,” McIlroy said. “This is my third time winning on St. Patrick’s Day, so this is a good luck charm for me. By no means did I have my best stuff this week, but I was still able to win one of the biggest tournaments in the world. That's a huge thing.”

The pivotal shot on 17 was something McIlory had told his caddie Harry Diamond he felt would be of great importance during the lead up to the playoff.

“I was warming up with the trackman this morning and I tried to hit shots with the same wind direction on the range,” McIlroy said. “I had that little three-quarter 9-iron dialed in. Once we got up there, I knew what to do and I made a good swing.”

For Spaun the agony of defeat was tough in the moment, but he feels his game has shown dramatic progress this year and thinks the second-place finish is something he can build on.

“This is probably the best golf I've played maybe in my career consistently,” Spaun said. “I had a chance to win at Sony, had a pretty good chance to win at Cognizant, and had a chance to win this week. To go from where I was a year ago, I'm pretty proud of where I've been able to dig deep and kind of get some self-belief and some confidence to play some good golf.”

The victory is the 28th career win for McIlroy who now joins Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, and Scottie Scheffler to win multiple majors and multiple Players titles. 

“I feel like I am a more complete player than I was a few years ago,” McIlroy said. “I feel like I can play in all kind of conditions and I’m really happy I could get it done today.”