Thursday 18 January 2018 13:43, UK
Dustin Johnson and Tommy Fleetwood have often been upstaged by Rory McIlroy, but they have now suffered the indignity of being upstaged by a young Rory McIlroy fan in Abu Dhabi's "Beat the Pro" challenge.
The marquee group had already hit their tee shots to the 177-yard par three 15th on the opening day, and then it was the turn of schoolboy Oscar Murphy to see if he could do any better.
The 13-year-old, a tidy six-handicapper, has been a huge McIlroy fan for years and would have been exceptionally nervous on the tee as he took a couple of practice swings with his three-wood.
But Murphy made a great connection and hit a high, soft fade which pitched safely on the green and ran out to around 20 feet from the pin - closer to the hole than both world No 1 Johnson, and European No 1 Fleetwood!
Ewen Murray described it as the "shot of the day", and an impressed McIlroy said: "Oscar has been following me since the 2011 PGA Championship in Atlanta and he's here for, like, every round I play here. I feel like he's my little mascot, he's waiting at the back of every green and every tee box.
"I was a little surprised to see him on the tee there. I didn't expect him to be inside the ropes today but he hit a really great shot, a really good little swing, one for the future."
The 15th hole also has special memories for McIlroy, having been the scene for what remains as his only hole-in-one as a professional back in 2015.
Watch the video above to see Oscar Murphy impress his hero Rory McIlroy in Abu Dhabi ...
