| PGA CHAMPIONSHIP REVIEW
With his remarkable eight-shot win at the PGA Championship, McIlroy replaced Luke Donald at the top of the world rankings and put to rest suggestions that his game had been affected by his private life
The
King of Kiawah Reigning Hong Kong Open champion Rory McIlroy claims his second major and vaults to the top of the world rankings by destroying the strongest field of the year
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ory McIlroy, decked out in Tiger Red, looked every bit the part of golf’s next star in another command performance at last month’s PGA Championship. McIlroy validated his record-setting US Open win last year by blowing away the field at Kiawah Island. One last birdie from 25 feet on the 18th hole gave him a 6-under 66 for an eight-shot victory, breaking the PGA Championship record for margin of victory that Jack Nicklaus set in 1980.
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Winning the final major the year ends what had been a tumultuous season for McIlroy. Despite winning the Honda Classic in early March, he went into a tail spin by missing four cuts over five tournaments, as questions swirled that his romance with tennis star Caroline Wozniacki was hurting his game. “He’s very good. We all know the talent he has,” Woods said. “He went through a little spell this year, and I think that was good for him. We all go through those spells in our careers. He’s got all the talent in the world to do what he’s doing. And this is the way that Rory can play. When he gets it going, it’s pretty impressive to watch.” Ian Poulter, the 2010 Hong Kong Open champion, put up the stiffest challenge, though not for long. Poulter, who started the final round six shots behind, made six birdies through seven holes to get within two shots. He made three straight bogeys on the back nine and had to settle for a 69. He tied for third, along with fellow Englishman Justin Rose, defending champion
If there was a signature shot for McIlroy, it might have been when his tee shot lodged into a tree on the 3rd hole on Saturday. He only found it with help from a TV crew, took his penalty shot and fired a wedge into six feet to save par. He was on his way, and he never let up.
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McIlroy (top) made a great up-and-down from wood chips at the 2nd hole for an all-important birdie that set the tone for his final round; Sweden’s Carl Pettersson (opposite), who started the round three shots behind in second, was unlucky to be assessed a two-shot penalty at the 1st hole after moving a small leaf in a hazard 30
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The 23-year-old from Northern Ireland returned to No 1 in the world, and he became the youngest player since Seve Ballesteros to win two majors. Tiger Woods was about four months older than McIlroy when he won his second major. Just like the US Open at Congressional, McIlroy won this one going away. McIlroy seized control with back-to-back birdies Sunday morning to complete the stormdelayed third round with a 67 and build a threeshot lead. No one got closer than two shots the rest of the way, and McIlroy closed out a remarkable week by playing bogey-free over the final 23 holes of a demanding Ocean Course. David Lynn, a 38-year-old English journey-
Keegan Bradley and Carl Pettersson. In the final qualifying event for the US Ryder Cup team, nothing changed. Phil Mickelson was holding down the eighth and final spot, and he stayed there when neither Bo Van Pelt nor Steve Stricker could make a move on the back nine. McIlroy was tied for the lead with Vijay Singh when he returned Sunday. Twenty-seven holes later, he had no peer in the final major of the year. When he won the U.S. Open last year, Padraig Harrington suggested that perhaps McIlroy – not Woods – might be the one to challenge the record 18 majors won by Jack Nicklaus. That looked like nothing more than one Irishman boosting another when McIlroy didn’t come close in the next five majors. But how about now? “I think winning his second major is going to make things a lot easier for him,” Harrington, a three-time major winner, said. “I think last year he proved it, but there’s been ups and downs since his last major win because of the pressure and the expectations and the hype. Now he’s delivered again. It’s going to be a lot easier for him going forward. And he’ll get better.” McIlroy went out in 33, saving par with a 10-foot putt on the ninth hole. Indeed, it was the Ulsterman’s putting prowess – he holed a number of tricky ones for par to keep his momentum going – as much as his brilliant ball striking that impressed. That’s what Woods used to do in the majors. Poulter’s birdie on the par-5 11th hole closed the gap to two shots, but not for long. From a sandy area short of the 10th green, McIlroy blasted out and closed
man who was playing in America for the first time, was the surprise runner-up after closing with a 68.Woods, who shared the 36-hole lead for the second time this year in a major, was never a serious factor. He tossed away his chances on the Saturday before the storm blew in and never could get closer than four shots. He closed with a 72, failing to break par on the weekend in any of the four majors for the first time in his career. If there was a signature shot for McIlroy at Kiawah Island, it might have been Saturday when his tee shot lodged into a tree on the 3rd hole. He only found it with help from a TV crew, took his penalty shot and fired a wedge into six feet to save par. He was on his way, and he never let up. By winning the PGA Championship, McIlroy is halfway home to the career Grand Slam. “It was a great round of golf. I’m speechless,” said the reigning Hong Kong Open champion after hoisting the Wanamaker Trophy, the heaviest of the four majors. “It’s just been incredible. I had a good feeling about it at the start. I never imagined to do this.” HKGOLFER.COM
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Woods stepped into a cactus while hitting out of the dunes on the 15th hole in the morning, and his day got even more painful from there. He has gone 14 majors since winning his last one, no 14, at the 2008 US Open.
his eyes when the wind blew sand into his face. He never saw the ball check a foot from the cup. And with a 10-foot birdie on the 12th, there was no stopping him. The win ends a streak of the last 16 majors going to 16 different winners. McIlroy joined Woods, Harrington and Mickelson as the only players to win majors in consecutive years over the last two decades. “It means an awful lot to look at the names on that trophy, and to put my name alongside them is very special,” McIlroy said. Pettersson, who started the final round three shots behind playing partner McIlroy, tried to put up a good fight, though he suffered a setback on the 1st hole without even realizing it. The US-based Swede drove just inside a red hazard line. He checked to make sure his club could touch the grass without grounding the club. That part was fine. However, PGA rules officials determined after scrutinizing a video replay that a small leaf that moved as Pettersson took back the club. That violates Rule 134c – moving a loose impediment while in a hazard – and three holes later he was informed it was a two-shot penalty. The par became a double bogey. Pettersson responded with back-to-back birdies. By then, it was too late – really too late for anybody. McIlroy might have won this major before breakfast. He was among 26 players who had to return Sunday morning, playing the back nine to finish
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Clockwise from top: England’s David Lynn, who was playing in his first major in the United States, was a surprise name on the leaderboard on day four; Ian Poulter, a compatriot of Lynn’s, started with five consecutive birdies in the final round to put the pressure on McIlroy, but he couldn’t sustain his challenge; Tiger Woods, who had the halfway lead, had a weekend to forget, rounds of 74 and 72 leaving him in a share of 11th 32
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the storm-delayed third round. Tied with Vijay Singh at six-under par, McIlroy missed two short birdie chances, and then made bogey on the 13th. He rebounded with birdies on the 15th and 16th, a tough bunker save on the 17th and a closing par for a 67 that gave him a three-shot lead. After going back to his island home for breakfast, a quick nap and a change of clothes – a bright red shirt that had been chosen by Oakley, his apparel sponsor, at the start of the week – McIlroy looked solid as ever. After pulling his approach on the parfive 2nd hole under a tree, he hit wedge off the wood chips to set up a birdie. He came up just short of the green at the 3rd, where the tees were moved up to play 293 yards, and hit an even better flip wedge to a tiny target on an elevated green. McIlroy holed a 15-foot birdie putt, and he was on his way. Woods stepped into a cactus while hitting out of the dunes on the 15th hole in the morning, and his day got even more painful from there. He has gone 14 majors since winning his last one, no 14, at the 2008 US Open. He looks to be closer, with three PGA Tour wins this year and two 36-hole leads in the majors. His regret when it was over – he tied for 11th – was all about attitude. “I came out with the probably the wrong attitude yesterday,” he said. “And I was too relaxed, and tried to enjoy it, and that’s not how I play. I play intense and full systems go. That cost me.” McIlroy said earlier in the week that he only wanted to give himself a chance, to feel that buzz of being in contention in the final round. He wound up putting the buzz back into golf. “Rory is showing that with his 'A' game, everybody else is going to struggle to compete with him,” Harrington said. “And Tiger needs his 'A' game to come up against Rory ... If Rory is playing as well as he is, Tiger is not going to pick a major off unless he’s got his 'A' game out there.” Unfortunately we’re going to have to wait seven months to see whether he does. HKGOLFER.COM
2012 PGA Championship Results 1 Rory McIlroy
NIR
67 75 67 66
275
US$1,445,000
2 David Lynn
ENG
73 74 68 68
283
US$865,000
3= Justin Rose
ENG
69 79 70 66
284
US$384,500
Keegan Bradley
USA
68 77 71 68
284
US$384,500
Ian Poulter
ENG
70 71 74 69
284
US$384,500
Carl Pettersson
SWE
66 74 72 72
284
US$384,500
7= Blake Adams
USA
71 72 75 67
285
US$226,000
Jamie Donaldson
WAL
69 73 73 70
285
US$226,000
Peter Hanson
SWE
69 75 70 71
285
US$226,000
Steve Stricker
USA
74 73 67 71
285
US$226,000
11= Ben Curtis
USA
69 77 73 67
286
US$143,286
Bubba Watson
USA
73 75 70 68
286
US$143,286
Tim Clark
RSA
71 73 73 69
286
US$143,286
Geoff Ogilvy
AUS
68 78 70 70
286
US$143,286
Graeme McDowell
NIR
68 76 71 71
286
US$143,286
Tiger Woods
USA
69 71 74 72
286
US$143,286
Adam Scott
AUS
68 75 70 73
286
US$143,286
18= John Daly
USA
68 77 73 69
287
US$99,667
Padraig Harrington
IRE
70 76 69 72
287
US$99,667
Bo Van Pelt
USA
73 73 67 73
287
US$99,667
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