McIlroy comfortable at Quail Hollow
Jordan CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Spieth is going for a career Grand Slam at the PGA Championship and doesn’t appear to have a care in the world.
Rory McIlroy hasn’t won a major in three years and expectations are higher than ever. Blame that on Quail Hollow.
This is where McIlroy won his first PGA Tour event in 2010 when he fearlessly fired a 4-iron into the breeze and over the water to 6 feet for an eagle that allowed him to make the cut on the number, and then he followed with a 66-62 weekend. Quail Hollow is where he shot 61 in the third round to run away from a strong field for a seven-shot victory. He has played here seven times and has finished out of the top 10 just once.
It’s not Tiger Woods at Torrey Pines.
But there’s a reason McIlroy has been looking forward to this PGA Championship. And it’s a big reason why he is the betting favorite by a slight margin over Spieth, who is just three weeks removed from winning the British Open.
The odds on McIlroy winning at Royal Birkdale were 20-1, some of the highest ever associated with him.
PGA CHAMPIONSHIP
Charlotte, N.C.
Quail Hollow Club. TBA ($10 million in 2016). ($1.8 million in 2016).
Thursday and Friday, 1 p.m. to 7 p.m., TNT. Saturday, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., TNT; 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. CBS. Sunday, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., TNT; 2 p.m. to 7 p.m., CBS.
Jimmy Walker. Jordan Spieth will have a chance to complete the career Grand Slam if he wins this event . ... Quail Hollow is the third North Carolina course to host the PGA Championship. The others were Pinehurst No. 2 in 1936 and Tanglewood in 1974 . ... Jason Day holds the PGA Championship record with eight straight rounds in the 60s . ... The past three PGA Championship winners — Walker, Day and Rory McIlroy — each shot 68 or better all four rounds . ... McIlroy has won twice at Quail Hollow, including his first PGA Tour victory in 2010. He joked then that it was a good time to back him.
Now, at 7-1, he doesn’t feel much differently.
“I told you those odds wouldn’t last long,” he said Tuesday. “I think it’s partly to do with the upturn in form that I’ve had over the last few weeks. And then my his- 7,600. 71. TBA tory on this golf course — a couple of wins, beaten in a playoff, a few other top 10s.
“Things are a bit different than they were a couple of weeks ago.”
McIlroy has posted seven straight rounds in the 60s going into the final major of the year, though he has not been in serious contention in either the British Open or the Bridgestone Invitational. A bad start held him back at Royal Birkdale and he was slowed by not hitting his wedges close enough or making enough putts at Firestone.
His long game has been solid as ever, and that fig- ures to be an advantage on a course already softened by rain on Tuesday and with storms in the forecast for the rest of the week.
McIlroy, like Spieth, also has three legs of the career Grand Slam. He is lacking only the Masters, and he hasn’t come particularly close in the three years he has gone to Augusta National with a chance to complete it. But there are differences.
McIlroy won the British Open at Hoylake in 2014 and then had to wait nearly nine month for the Masters. That was plenty of time to think about it, to answer to it.
“It plays on your mind a little bit,” he said. “I think that’s where Jordan doesn’t have to deal with that coming into this week. It’s great to be able to ride on the crest of a wave and keep it going.”
McIlroy, meanwhile, isn’t the only player trying to make sure the year doesn’t end without him winning a major. Dustin Johnson looked good enough to win them all until he slipped down the stairs and wrenched his back on the eve of the Masters.
Johnson believes his game is close to where it was before the injury.
Hamilton’s catch might have been his best. However, he’s made so many, it would take a long time to judge the top entries.
“That’s what me and Tucker (Barnhart) were talking about,” Hamilton said. “He said, ‘Man, I’ve seen you make a lot of plays, but I think that’s one of the best ones.’ ”
Hamilton crashed into the wall after the catch and then held the ball up when he hit the ground. He got up with a smile.
“It would be a different story if I had missed it,” Hamilton said. “If I had missed it, I would probably be laying down there hurting. When you catch it, that feeling goes away. No, it was one of those plays you don’t expect to make every night. I actually thought it was gone at first. That’s why I had to react to it and come back to the left side.”
The Reds couldn’t over- come the struggles of starter Sal Romano (2- 4 ), who allowed five earned runs on nine hits in six innings. His ERA jumped from 4.88 to 5.35.
The ERA for Reds starters stands at 6.02. That ranks last in baseball by a wide margin. Orioles starters have a 5.57 ERA.
Reds starters have never finished the season with an ERA over 6.00, at least since 1913, which is as far back as BaseballReference.com’s database goes.
Only 11 teams since 1913 have had starting pitchers post an ERA of 6.00 or above for a season.
The Reds (46-67) fell to 2-3 on the seven-game homestand. They’re 1-4 against the Padres this season. The Reds haven’t won a season series against San Diego since 2012. Since then, they are 10-19.
The Reds drew a crowd of 13,683. It’s the eighth time this season they have had a crowd smaller than 15,000. They’re averaging 24,012, which ranks 26th out of 30 teams.