At present, Rory McIlroy serves as a cash cow on the PGA Tour, stepping into this week’s US PGA Championship with an unquenchable thirst for his fifth major title, bolstered by another victory on his track record. The 35-year-old golfer from Northern Ireland sailed to triumph at the Wells Fargo Championship, bagging a whopping $3.6 million prize money of the main event after delivering a superior final round act for 17 holes. The only rupture in his immaculate performance was an overcommitted swing into the creek on the final hole that cost him an unexpected double bogey six. Regardless, it made a little difference as he had already established a formidable lead.
McIlroy put up a final round score of 65 for a sum of 17-under-par 267, a lead of five shots over Xander Schauffele who ended his week with a par score of 71. Rory was followed by Ben An from South Korea who completed the tournament in third place, eight shots behind McIlroy.
Within a span of two weeks since helping Shane Lowry secure a win at the Zurich Classic, McIlroy bagged his 26th career victory on the PGA Tour and his fourth Wells Fargo title.
McIlroy started the final round at just a stroke behind the lead held by Schauffele, the gold medalist hailing from Tokyo. For the initial seven holes of the final round, he trailed Schauffele by two strokes but beat the tide and embarked on a dazzling display of his golf prowess, wielding his driver much to his advantage. Moreover, while McIlroy was in his prime, Schauffele’s putting game significantly paled.
Rory managed birdies from 12 and 10 feet on the eighth and ninth holes respectively, landing him a 33 on his outward nine. However, the spectacle was his outward run that comprised two eagles that catapulted him far beyond Schauffele’s reach.
McIlroy first gained remarkable position at the 10th Par 5, striking a 367 yard drive just into the first cut of rough and sealed it with a 35 feet putt for an eagle. Then he truly found his stride – at the 13th Par 3, he followed up a tee shot to 14 feet with a successful birdie putt. After positioning his drive in a greenside bunker at the 316 yards Par 4 14th, he managed another birdie from a mere five feet. The climax was his bunker shot hole-out for an eagle on the 15th Par 5.
This Thursday, McIlroy is headed back to Kentucky’s Valhalla – the site of his 2014 US PGA triumph – primed for the season’s second Major, armed with consecutive wins on the tour. “The win I had with Shane in New Orleans has boosted my confidence significantly,” he shared.
Meanwhile, Séamus Power concluded in a tied-16th spot with a 70 for 283, catapulting him 11 spots to the 62nd position in the FedEx Cup standings. Shane Lowry, despite ending the last two holes with a double bogey-bogey, managed a tied-47th finish with a 72 for 291.
In relation to the LPGA Tour, Leona Maguire concluded with a final round of 69 for a six-under-par 282 in tied-12th, securing a $45,871 win at the Cognizant Founders tournament. Conclusively, the tournament witnessed 20-year-old American, Rose Zhang, marking her second career victory, with a closing score of 64 for 264, two shots ahead of Madelene Sagstrom of Sweden.
Nelly Korda’s victorious stride was shaken as she had to make do with tied-seventh. This marked the end to the American’s winning streak of her last five appearances on the LPGA.