Rory McIlroy is like a living, walking ATM machine on the PGA Tour at the moment, as he headed into this week’s US PGA Championship – in his quest for a fifth career Major title – with another win on his CV.
The 35-year-old Northern Irishman cruised to victory in the Wells Fargo Championship, pocketing a payday of $3.6 million for the signature event after producing a final round masterclass for 17 holes, only an overhit approach into the creek on the closing hole resulting in a double bogey six providing a bite of reality. It didn’t matter by then.
McIlroy fired a closing round 65 for a total of 17-under-par 267, five shots clear of Xander Schauffele who finished his week’s work with a level par 71. South Korea’s Ben An finished in solo third, eight shots behind McIlroy.
A fortnight after partnering Shane Lowry to victory in the Zurich Classic, McIlroy claimed a 26th career win on the PGA Tour and a fourth Wells Fargo title.
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McIlroy started out a shot adrift of 54-hole leader Schauffele, the Olympic gold medalist from Tokyo, and trailed him by two strokes through seven holes of the final round. Thereafter, McIlroy took control with a scintillating demonstration of a golf game – with his driver the key club in overpowering the course and Schauffele – in prime condition, while Schauffele’s putter went AWOL.
A birdie from 12 feet on the eighth and 10 feet on the ninth enabled McIlroy to turn in 33 strokes but the real fireworks came on a homeward run that included two eagles as he raced further and further away from Schauffele.
The first of those eagles came on the Par 5 10th where he hit a drive of 367 yards into the first cut of rough and hit his approach to 35 feet and sank the putt. Then, he hit the afterburners to race clear: on the Par 3 13th, McIlroy hit his tee shot to 14 feet and rolled in the birdie putt, followed with a birdie from five feet on the 14th after reaching a greenside bunker with his drive on the 316 yards Par 4, and then holed-out a bunker shot for eagle on the Par 5 15th.
McIlroy returns to Valhalla in Kentucky – the scene of his 2014 US PGA win – for the season’s second Major, starting on Thursday, with back-to-back wins on tour. “I really got some confidence from New Orleans, winning with Shane,” he explained.
Séamus Power finished with a 70 for 283 in tied-16th that moved him up 11 places to 62nd on the FedEx Cup standings, while Shane Lowry closed with a 72 for 291 in tied-47th after a double bogey-bogey finish on the final two holes.
On the LPGA Tour, Leona Maguire shot a final round 69 for six-under-par 282 in tied-12th (winning $45,871) at the Cognizant Founders tournament where 20-year-old American Rose Zhang claimed a second career win with a closing 64 for 264, two shots clear of Sweden’s Madelene Sagstrom.
Nelly Korda’s winning streak was brought to an end as the American – winner of her five previous outings on the LPGA – had to settle for tied-seventh.
