Rory McIlroy has now proven when the pressure is really on, he will step to the plate. Down by three shots as he made the turn, Rory eagled no. 10 from seven feet, he birdied 13, and then hit the shot of the tournament on 17, a wedge from the sand trap on his second shot on the par four to 8 feet. He sank the birdie putt, then parred 18 in the darkness to capture his fourth major championship and affirm his dominance as the best player in the world right now by a landslide. Rory shot 68 yesterday to defeat Phil Mickelson by a shot and capture the 96th PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky.
I didn’t love the fact that he hit into Phil and Rickie Fowler on 18. Phil and Rickie let him do it, though I don’t think Phil was too happy about it. Phil just barely missed an eagle chip on 18 to tie Rory at -16, and Rory did hit it into the trap on 18, a pretty long way from the hole, and had to two putt from 30 feet to seal it. He got the job done though. Rory’s dominance is something we haven’t seen since Nicklaus and Tiger Woods. Jack said earlier last week that Rory would win “15 to 20 majors.” Jack is the ultimate competitor. Jack doesn’t want Rory to break his all time record. He doesn’t want Tiger to. Jack is a gentleman, and very respectful of the game, and he appreciates greatness. But he doesn’t want Rory, Tiger or anybody else to break his record. I wonder at times if Jack is kind of getting in these guys’ heads a little bit. It’s kind of interesting. He keeps saying Tiger will break his record, but he really doesn’t want that to happen. Rory has a long way to go before he can even think about Jack’s record.
But for right now, Rory’s the man. I picked Rory to win, so I was pulling for him for the most part, though it’s really hard to pull against Phil. Rory did make the off the course play of the tournament too, catching the top of the Wanamaker Trophy when PGA president Ted Bishop awkwardly almost dropped the trophy and the top came flying off as Rory was about to take it from Bishop. Rory caught it before it hit his foot. Nice save.
I do see the U.S. with a chance at the Ryder Cup with Tom Watson at the helm. The U.S. has a real advantage with Watson as captain over the inexperienced British captain, Paul McGinley. Our automatic nine are Bubba, Rickie, Jim Furyk, Jimmy Walker, Phil, Matt Kuchar, though he may be questionable with back problems, Jordan Spieth, Patrick Reed and Zach Johnson. That’s a good start. Tom’s three captain’s picks, which he will choose on Sept. 2nd the day after the second leg of the Fed Ex playoffs at the Deutsche Bank Championship in Boston, will be very interesting and important. Guys like Keegan Bradley, Kevin Na, Webb Simpson, a revived Brandt Snedeker, Hunter Mahan and Harris English are among several who could be the three captain’s picks. Don’t think Tiger Woods will be included. He’s not 100 percent healthy, he’s not even 60 or 70 percent; and beyond that, his play has been totally subpar. So based on performance, he shouldn’t be a part of the team. But we have some good options.
Europe has a highly formidable team with Rory, Henrik Stenson, Martin Kaymer, Justin Rose, Ian Poulter, always a tough Ryder Cup competitor, and Sergio, another guy who plays really well at the Ryder Cup. among their top nine. It’ll be a major test for the U.S. guys. It will be held at Gleneagles Golf Club in Perthshire, Scotland, so the Euros will be on their home turf. But I’ve got a feeling that this American team will be hungry. They will be the prohibitive underdog, which could be a good thing. I like Keegan Bradley to be a part of the team. He and Phil play well together, and he’s an excellent competitor. As for the other two spots, Tom is waiting to see how the first two legs of the Fed Ex playoffs shake out.
In the meantime, the Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, N.C. is this weekend with a pretty good field, then the Fed Ex playoffs start with led off by the Barclays in New Jersey, just outside of NYC, Aug. 21-24th. The four tournaments will decide who takes home the coveted $10 million dollar prize for winning it. Wow. The Barclays will be followed by the Deutsche Bank (Aug 29-Sept. 1), the BMW Championship in Cherry Hills, Colorado, a new venue this year after having it in Chicago and Crooked Stick Indiana previously, Sept. 4-7th, then the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Sept. 11-14th.
Rory is leading the standings right now with Jimmy Walker, Bubba, Matt Kuchar and Jim Furyk in second through fifth. Should be electric. A lot of excellent golf ahead and the Ryder Cup should be epic, Sept. 25-28th.
Will Rory stay this hungry for the next 10 years? That was Jack’s question when he was asked how many majors Rory could win. Looks pretty good right now.
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Post round interview with Figjam seemed somewhat awkward for him. He was second and that was not to change, but he was noticeably trying to put a calm spin on the never before seen final hole antics ( as commentator Sir Nick Faldo stated). Another major yanked from Phil’s clutches. This one he had less control it appeared. Only 72 holes. At one point, he believed R Mac would hit only the tee shot up with his group and he was truly surprised when they were allowed to play the hole in its entirety with he and Fowler. Best tournament drama in recent memory. Never thought the driver would be the most important club in the champions bag. So dominating.
Good stuff JB.