After a pulsating third round of golf’s final major of 2014 on Saturday, when close to a dozen players clustered within two shots of the lead at one point, Rory McIlroy stood alone atop the leader board before play began on Sunday at Valhalla. Mother Nature had plans of her own for the day, and play was delayed for about an hour for rain, which raised speculation that the tournament might have to be finished on Monday morning.
McIlroy sputtered in the early going with bogeys on two of his first six holes. Meanwhile, Rickie Fowler (started Sunday at -11, two shots behind McIlroy) and Phil Mickelson (started -10), paired together for the day, were both on fire with four birdies each on the front nine to seize the lead. Swede Henrik Stenson did them both one better in making a charge of his own, and by the turn, he was sitting at -14, three strokes ahead of McIlroy. The battle lines were well and truly drawn on this final day, and all watching were being treated to some incredible golf.
Then came the 10th hole. After a solid drive to the middle of the fairway, McIlroy stood about 290 yards from the hole. He had a tough pin placement on the left side of the green that left little room to play anything too close. Most players for the day had elected to lay up closer to the green or went with an aggressive second shot to the middle of the green that left them with long eagle attempts or safe 2-putts for the birdie. Then again, Rory McIlroy is far from “most players,” and his shotmaking ability came to the forefront with this second shot:
The eagle attempt was good, and suddenly, in spite of his poor start, McIlroy was just a shot behind the trio of Mickelson, Stenson, and Fowler. As the leaders entered the first half of the back nine, none looked like they were going to buckle, as this audacious par save by Mickelson on the 12th showed:
(Video: CBS Sports/Eye on Golf)
The boy from Holywood (not a typo) was not to be denied, and as the other contenders began to let mistakes creep into their play, he drained a putt on the 13th to put him in a tie for the lead. By the 16th hole, he stood one stroke ahead of Mickelson and Fowler, and on the next hole, this putt essentially sealed the deal:
(Video: CBS Sports/Eye on Golf)
The winning difference came down the stretch in the final six holes of the tournament. Fowler and Stenson shot +1 each, whilst Mickelson could hardly be faulted for going even par that late in the tournament. However, McIlroy was able to shoot -2 from the 12th hole on to cap an amazing 32 on the back nine.
In fading light, the last two pairs of Mickelson/Fowler and McIlroy/Wiesberger essentially played the 18th hole as a foursome. Neither Mickelson nor Fowler was able to capitalize on a fairly easy par-5, and though his tee shot came perilously close to bouncing into the water hazard and he then ended up in a bunker with his second shot, McIlroy was left with three putts for the win.
He needed only two.
With this victory, McIlroy became just the fourth golfer in history to win his fourth major by the age of 25. He also became the first golfer since Tiger Woods to win three straight tournaments. Given his shot-making ability, mental toughness, and sheer talent, it will be increasingly difficult to bet against him for the foreseeable future.
(Featured image: AP/David J. Phillip)