The stage was a grand one, the Arnold Palmer-designed K Club course in Straffan, County Kildare.
The crowds were huge, expectant, demanding.
Rory McIIroy had started his final round of the Amgen Irish Open four shots behind the leader. It was a lot but, hey, we were talking Rory.
And so Rory went about his work, moving up the the leaderboard to join a veritable traffic jam at the top, five players tied for the lead at one point.
By the time he arrived at the Par 5 18th the jam had eased but Rory needed an eagle three to stay in it.
And he got it with a putt measuring 27 feet ten inches. What were the odds? The crowd went wild.
Three playoff holes later it went even wilder as McIlroy finally saw off the challenge of Sweden's Joakim Lagergren.
And so Rory's second Irish Open title, the last one being in 2016. And his fourth tournament win this year after Pebble Beach, the Players and the Masters.
Golf fans will soon see Rory up close again on American soil, on the Black Course at Bethpage on Long Island for the Ryder Cup, September 26-28.
One way or another that crowd will be going wild too for a golfer who well and truly transcends national boundaries.
