I was shock PGA champion but also stripped down to my boxers to rescue elderly couple

No one can fluke a major in the golfing world, it requires four days of physical and mental precision.

But when Shaun Micheel lifted the Wanamaker Trophy as winner of the PGA Championship in 2003, people were left scratching their heads asking: who is this guy?

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Ranked No. 169 in the world at the time, it would have taken a brave punter to put a couple of quid on Micheel becoming a major champion.

But before he ever reached the Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, the Orlando resident’s life would change forever.

In 1993, ten years before his spectacular victory, Micheel was on his way to a mini-tour event in North Carolina.

To his horror, he saw a car drive straight into the Neuse River with an elderly couple inside.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Micheel had stripped down to his boxers and jumped in to rescue them as the car sank.

At first, the elderly man refused to get out in a state of shock before the windscreen caved in and gave them no choice.

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Micheel managed to pull the couple out and helped them out of the river.

“It happened so fast, it was surreal,” he said. “It was like I was drawn to the river. I didn’t have a choice.

“I remember how mad I was at the guy because he wouldn’t get out of the car.

“It seems so silly now. The windshield had collapsed in. I grabbed him and yanked him through it.”

Perhaps that experience helped steel himself to victory a decade later when, at just the third major of his career, he made an unbelievable shot to snatch victory against the odds.

On the 72nd hole at Oak Hill, clutching his 7 iron about 175 yards from the hole, Micheel unleashed a beauty – a one in a million shot for a one in a million guy – dropping the ball a penny from the hole.

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“It was the perfect distance for the way I played,” he said. “Deep breath and I swung. It was a magical moment.

“I failed to qualify for the U.S. Open that summer and I didn’t have any expectations at Oak Hill.

“A hundred and 56 guys in the field. One winner. What were the odds it was going to be me?”