RORY’S BACK!
McIlroy ends his 18-month drought with Florida win
Rory McIlRoy ended the longest winless run of his career in magnificent style last night as he beat Tiger Woods and Justin Rose to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational in orlando.
The 28-year- old finished with five birdies in his last six holes for a 64 to finish a frustrating run stretching back 18 months to the very day Palmer passed away.
‘It was awesome to feel the buzz again and reeling off all those birdies,’ said McIlroy. ‘I’ve missed it and I’m really proud of myself to get the win.
‘I played a perfect round of golf and to win a trophy with Arnold’s name on it just puts the icing on the cake.’
McIlroy’s win comes a fortnight before the Masters at Augusta, where he will try to become only the sixth golfer to complete the career Grand Slam.
Woods was briefly in contention after three birdies in four holes immediately after the turn, but his challenge faded with bogeys at the 16th and 17th and he finished tied for fifth.
Now that’s how you end a victory drought. with Tiger woods prowling and the hot breath of Henrik Stenson, Justin Rose and the gutsy young American Bryson DeChambeau on his neck, Rory McIlroy ended his 18-month winless run at the Arnold Palmer Invitational with a finish worthy of the legend whose name adorns the tournament.
The timing was perfect on every level. Picking up seven birdies in his last 13 holes, the 28-year- old not only pulled clear of a high- class leaderboard but did so just a fortnight before his tilt at the career Grand Slam at the Masters.
The Northern Irishman will now head to the wGC- Match Play Championship in Austin this week feeling everything is finally clicking into gear. McIlroy birdied five of the last six holes, rolling in a stunning 20-foot putt at the 18th for a magnificent 64 to beat DeChambeau, 24, by two shots with Rose third and Stenson fourth.
Yet it was all so different at the start. McIlroy appeared to be in for another humdrum final day when he parred his first five holes to fall four adrift of Stenson.
A birdie at the par-five sixth lit the fuse, and thereafter he put together one of those runs where he is simply unbeatable, beginning with birdies at the seventh and ninth. In the middle of the back nine he compiled omde four more birdies in a row to take the tournament away from men as hard as Rose, Stenson, and DeChambeau, who kept it interesting to the end d with an eagle at the he 16th.
Just as he has all week, week following an inspired conversation with American putting wizard Brad Faxon, McIlroy’s touch on the greens was sure, as he holed from 10 feet at the 13th and 30 feet at the 14th, before chipping in at the 15th.
Another birdie at the 16th was followed by his putt at the 18th, and who could live with that? McIlroy’s brilliance caused the bookmakers bookma to swiftly revise their opinion of making Tiger favourite for Augusta National, but they only moved him down one place.
The fact is woods is heading to Augusta having brought the sport to a state of febrile excitement the like of which we might not have seen since his glory years.
Five comeback tournaments punctuated by record crowds, record television viewing figures and the sort of golf we thought had become the preserve of old footage on YouTube has set the stage for what promises to be a Masters for the ages.
woods raised the temperature with three birdies in his first eight holes, the pick of which came at the par- five sixth, a hole played around a vast expanse of water. Tiger’s drive over the hazard was good but his five iron to 15 feet was from the top drawer. He’s back all right.
when Tiger bogeyed the ninth unexpectedly following a rare poor chip, it appeared his chance had gone at four behind, but when did woods think like that?
Birdies at the 10th and 12th were followed by a classic woods moment at the 13th, where he stood over a 20- foot putt for another gain. on the other side of the lake were the leaders, and so a chance to send out a statement. You can guess what happened next. woods had pulled to within a stroke of Stenson and McIlroy.
By now, even McIlroy and Rose were struggling to attract a crowd as almost the entire audience gravitated towards woods.
And then, just like that, his chance of victory disappeared. Going for a big drive at the par five 16th, he pulled it left out of bounds. The sense of shock was overwhelming, and for woods as well, as he followed a bogey with another at the 17th to fall to a tie for fifth.
It mattered little in terms of Augusta, of course. Nobody can doubt he is a serious contender to win a fifth green jacket.
As for McIlroy, his feat of escapology after a period in the doldrums might not be quite in the same bracket as Tiger’s following his various back surgeries, but it is still impressive after a lost month in America.
Right now, a sport is holding its breath and hardly able to believe its luck.