MAGIC McILROY GETS BACK TO WINNING WAYS
McIlroy putts rivals away
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 yesterday 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 that everything is finally clicking into gear.
McIlroy birdied five of the last six holes, rolling in a stunning 20ft putt at the 18th for a magnificent 64 to beat DeChambeau by two shots with Rose and Stenson third.
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.
But 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 7th and 9th.
In the middle of the back nine he compiled four more birdies in a row to take the tournament away from men as hard as Rose, Stenson, and the plucky DeChambeau, who kept it interesting to the end with an eagle at the 16th.
Just as he has all week, following an inspired conversation with American putting wizard Brad Faxon, McIlroy’s touch on the greens was sure, as he holed from 10ft at the 13th and 30ft 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 might cause the bookmakers to revise their opinion of making Tiger favourite for Augusta National but they need only move him down one place.
The fact is Woods is heading to Augusta having brought the sport to a state of febrile excitement not have seen since his glory years.
Five comeback tournaments punc- tuated by record crowds, record viewing figures on TV and the sort of golf we thought had become the preserve of old videos 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 seven 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 15ft was from the top drawer. He’s back all right.
When Tiger bogeyed the 9th 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 20ft 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 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 l i ttle i n terms of Augusta, of course. No- one can doubt he is now a serious contender to win a fifth green jacket.
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’s still impressive after a lost month in America.
Right now, a sport is holding its breath, and hardly able to believe its luck.