Outrageous Rory McIlroy recovery birdie at BMW Championship has everyone talking

Rory McIlroy stole the show at the BMW Championship on Thursday thanks to an all-time great recovery shot and an audacious chip-in for birdie.

What makes the two shots even more special is that they came in succession on the 17th hole, as McIlroy reminded everyone of just exactly why he is one of the best golfers on the planet.

The Northern Irishman was already four under and looking good for a share of the lead when he arrived at the penultimate hole of the day at Olympia Fields Country Club, only for an errant tee shot to leave him with plenty of work to do.

From this tricky position, the four-time Major champion then chipped the ball in for an extraordinary birdie to grab a share of the lead.

Very few players are capable of turning such a difficult situation into a birdie and McIlroy admitted afterwards he had taken a "devil may care" attitude to the shot.

"The window was okay. It was more there was a couple of branches above the window I was looking at, and I was like, if it hits those, it's just going to drop down sort of near that front left bunker and I'll have a decent angle down the green and mostly have at least a 10-footer or less to save par," he said.

"It was a bit of a hit and a hope. Just trying to thread that needle and hit it straight at the 17 sign."

"Yeah, it was just one of those, it was either sort of chip it out or try to take it on, and it's only Thursday, I thought, what the heck, I'll take it on and see what happens."

McIlroy shares the lead with American Brian Harman heading into the second round, while England's Matt Fitzpatrick is among those just one shot back.

READ MORE: Rory McIlroy and Brian Harman share the lead at BMW Championship