Mcilroy repeats as RBC champ
Northern Irishman cards 62, takes dig at Greg Norman
Rory Mcilroy won the RBC Canadian Open on Sunday and gave the PGA Tour a strong response to the start of the Saudifunded LIV Golf Invitational, closing with an 8-under 62 to win a wild race to the finish with Justin Thomas and Tony Finau.
Mcilroy had his first title defense on the PGA Tour, even if he had to wait for it. He won golf’s fourth-oldest national open in 2019 at Hamilton Golf & Country Club, only for the the COVID-19 pandemic to cancel the next two editions.
Thomas pushed him to the end at St. George’s Golf & Country Club, and the tournament effectively ended on the 17th hole. Mcilroy and Thomas were tied and in the rough. Mcilroy hit a wedge that rolled out to tap-in range, while Thomas missed a 10-foot par putt, a twoshot swing. Thomas closed with a pair of bogeys and still shot 64.
Mcilroy finished at 19-under 261 for a twostroke victory.
Finau holed a 40-foot birdie putt on the 18th for a 64 to finish second alone. Thomas was third at 14 under. Justin Rose matched the tournamentand course-record with a 60 — with three eagles and three bogeys — to tie for fourth with Sam Burns (65) at 14 under.
Mcilroy has been one of the strongest opponents of the LIV Golf series and spoke out against the money being paid to players like Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson. Greg Norman, who runs the LIV Golf, said in a story in the Washington Post that Mcilroy had been “brainwashed” by the PGA Tour.
“This is a day I’ll remember for a long, long time,” Mcilroy said soon after the victory. “Twentyone PGA Tour wins, one more than somebody else.”
It was a dig at Norman, who had 20 career tour wins.
Mcilory repeated the jab later in the his main interview session when his victory total and accomplishments were noted in his introduction, saying: “And one more than Norman.”
LPGA: Brooke Henderson eagled the first hole of a playoff with Lindsey Weaver-wright to win the Shoprite LPGA Classic for her 11th tour title. Henderson closed with a bogeyfree 7-under 64 at Seaview Hotel and Golf Club to win for the first time in a year.
Tour Champions: Thongchai Jaidee became the first Thai winner in PGA Tour Champions history, closing with a 4-under 68 for a one-stroke victory in the American Family Insurance Championship.
European Tour: Linn Grant became the first female winner on the European tour, running away with the Scandinavian Mixed by nine strokes. The 22-year-old Swede closed with an 8-under 64 at Halmstad Golf Club, playing from shorter tees than the men. She finished at 24-under 264. Henrik Stenson, who hosted the event with Annika Sorenstam, shot a 70 to tie for second place with Marc Warren (65).