The 2015 Players Championship was a classic and one of the most memorable in the competition’s 41-year history. The headlines will be about Rickie Fowler but it was a gargantuan effort by a number of golfers (Kevin Kisner, Sergio Garcia, Ben Martin and Bill Haas all had good chances to win on the final day). Sergio’s 44-footer on the 17^th hole amidst jeers from a rowdy Floridian gallery will certainly live long in the memory. But Rickie Fowler needed the win the most and it showed in his golf. The victory came in the week Fowler was voted the more overrated player by his peers in an anonymous survey conducted by Sports Illustrated. While Fowler was hardly losing sleep over such a frivolous article, it did show that the hugely popular and talented Fowler was underachieving. Despite consistent showings in major championships (including four top 5s last year), Fowler had only one PGA Tour win under his belt. Here are the four shots that answered Fowler’s critics:

Hole 16, par 5, 2^nd shot in regulation play:

Rickie Fowler’s mother had left the premises. She had a flight to catch. It looked like being another solid finish for Fowler and an all too familiar picture of his career thus far. It was another great finish in a big tournament but it seemed like he was leaving without the trophy again. Fowler had recovered from a slow start well and had made an important putt on the 13^th hole to get to -8. Yet he was still three shots behind the tournament leader, Sergio Garcia, with only three holes remaining. Great players hit the shots when it really matters. Fowler had never had this sort of moment in his run of high finishes in big events. Too often he watched on as his opponents pulled a shot out of the bag to beat him to second place. Rickie took out his fairway wood for his second shot with 240 yards to the pin on the par 5. Hitting a slight fade, the ball never left the flagstick. A tap-in eagle followed and Fowler was one back. It was simply his best shot of the round. No-one else eagled this hole in the run-in. Without it, there is no charge. It was every bit the shot that he had been waiting for.

Hole 17, par 3, 1^st shot in regulation play:

Next to play was the 17^th hole at TPC Sawgrass, possibly the most famous par 3 in all of golf. The iconic island green was playing just over 120 yards but that did not make it any less daunting. The more nervous type would see a speck of land in a sea of water, especially with the Sunday pin position so close to the water. Fowler peppered the flag with reckless abandon, seven feet left of the hole pin-high. The boisterous crowd exploded. His mother probably heard the roars.  Sergio certainly did, missing a putt to surrender the lead. Fowler rammed his putt in to take the lead. Little did he know that this would be first of three attempts at the 17^th hole in the next two hours.

Hole 18, par 4, 1^st shot in regulation play:

If there was ever the perfect example of a sportsman ‘in the zone’, it was Rickie Fowler on the back nine on Sunday at Sawgrass. As if to emphasise this, the most fan-friendly of pros ignored the ‘high-fives’ from the crowd on the walk from the 17^th hole to the 18^th hole. In truth, he probably did not notice even them. Fowler’s set-up for his drive was bold at 18, straight over the water lurking on the entire left-hand side of the hole. The 18^th hole was statistically the hardest hole on the course all week and the drive is not one for the faint-hearted. Fowler’s average driving distance on tour this season is 295 yards. This time he hit it 331 yards right in the heart of the fairway. To call it crushed would be an understatement.  An absolutely ideal drive set up the closing birdie as Fowler had stormed into the clubhouse lead. Rickie was four-under par for his final three holes, in doing so he had achieved one of the fastest finishes in tour history.

Hole 17, par 3, 1^st shot in 4^th play-off hole, sudden death:

Rickie Fowler’s mother had returned to the premises. She watched on nervously, like thousands of Rickie Fowler fans in attendance. The Sawgrass signature hole provided a fitting end to a great tournament. Having already seen off the challenge of Sergio Garcia, Kevin Kisner was all that was left standing with a chance to ruin his day. Golf can be unique in how often underdogs rise to the contend prestigious tournaments. The depth of the professional circuit is such that someone like Kevin Kisner, without a PGA Tour win, had every chance of winning this tournament. There were shades of 2002 (Craig Perks won his only tournament at the Players Championship) as Kisner rolled his putt on 18 in regulation to win the tournament. His putt agonisingly caught the edge but he had a second chance in the play-off. He applied himself admirably there also. Playing with the honour on the fourth play-off hole, his tee-shot took dead-aim. It was perhaps unlucky to kick off the bank and he left himself with a 14-footer for birdie. A fantastic shot under any circumstances that put the pressure on Fowler once more. Fowler had birdied this hole four times all week, on a hole that was used to ending more careers than making them. The unfazed Fowler proceeded to put his ball even closer than all previous efforts. Bedlam ensued again in the galleries. The pressure applied by Fowler was simply too much for Kisner, who pulled his putt left and left the centre stage for Fowler. Fowler stepped up and drained the putt. It was never in doubt.

A relieved mother jumped for joy as Fowler paused to take in his surroundings. He gave his model girlfriend a victory kiss that was fresh out of Hollywood. It was fitting of his performance in the final round at TPC Sawgrass, which had all the makings of a great American movie. Hollywood writers would appreciate the triumph over adversity from a popular protagonist with a boyish charm like Fowler. While it is not quite a major championship victory (it is the next best thing), Fowler’s career is undoubtedly elevated by this win. When his career comes to an end, he will fondly remember the four clutch shots that he hit on Sunday at the Players Championship. When all is said and done, they may have been the four most important shots that shaped his career.