Sure, Super Bowl XLIII was a wild one. But having caught a replay of the Dubai Desert Classic on the Golf Channel just now, the Steelers’ last-minute comeback wasn’t even the best drama on Sunday.

A teen sensation with the weight of his country on his shoulders only pulls out his first pro tournament once. And after losing in two playoffs last year, Northern Ireland’s 19-year-old phenom Rory McIlroy gut-wrenchingly squeaked out his first professional win on the European Tour in Dubai.

If you didn’t see the action, McIlroy went from taking home his first win in a landslide - to needing a sand save on the 72nd hole to pull off a one-shot victory. After four straight birdies at the turn, he found himself up six shots with six holes to go. But it all fell apart pretty quickly after that. He bogeyed 15-thru-17, couldn’t hit a fairway to save his life and entered the par-5 18th with a one-shot lead.

In the end, he needed a gutsy sand save and a four-footer to win his first event and a mighty hunk of change (about $400,000 U.S.)

And how’s this for irony: in the final group with McIlroy was the last great teen sensation to come out of the U.K., Justin Rose. After Rose’s phenomenal finish as an Amateur at the 1998 Open Championship, he missed 21 cuts in a row. But McIlroy has shown no signs of such struggles early in his pro career. He was the low amateur at Carnoustie in 2007 and has since climbed his way up to 35th in the world after turning pro following the Walker Cup at Royal County Down in his home country.

With his first win coming so early into his professional career (and in quite a strong field, by the way), the sky seems to be the limit for what the Irish are calling the answer to Tiger Woods (the local golfers were telling me that two years ago when I was touring Northern Ireland). How’s that for expectations?

McIlroy is projected to jump as high as 16th in the World Golf Rankings. Not bad for a 19-year-old. Look out for some more strong finishes in majors this year…

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