McIlroy at Kiawah seeking first major since '14
Rory McIlroy arrives at the 103rd Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) Championship seeking his first major triumph since 2014 after snapping an 18-month US PGA Tour win drought last week.
And it won’t hurt that the four-time major winner from Northern Ireland is returning to Kiawah Island, where he won the 2012 PGA by a record-setting eight-stroke margin.
“Hopefully, history repeats itself,” McIlroy said. “But I’m just happy that I can hit the golf shots I need to under pressure. “You just need to get yourself in the position to put yourself under pressure to hit the shots that really matter.”
After struggling through the Covid-19 pandemic while playing without spectators, McIlroy has found his form and won for the first time since the 2019 WGC Shanghai event.
McIlroy won a third career victory at Quail Hollow, his first since becoming a father with his wife, Erica, having given birth to their daughter, Poppy, last year.
“He’s coming off a win,” 2015
PGA winner Jason Day of Australia said. “He’s very confident right now; so, going to be very dangerous.”
Nobody recognizes that fact more than McIlroy, who is encouraged and confident after seeing hard work with new coach Pete Cowen pay off.
“This victory is very important, going into Kiawah,” he said. “I played really well there last time. I’ll go up there and try to do my homework and re-familiarize myself with the layout a little bit.
“It’s certainly great timing. This is obviously a huge confidence boost going in there knowing that my game is closer than it has been.”
McIlroy, 32, was only two when the 1991 Ryder Cup “War on the Shore” was contested on the Ocean course with the US squad edging Europe in a fight filled with gamesmanship.
When the golf world returned for the 2012 PGA, McIlroy was overwhelming.
“Only thing I do remember is Rory ran away with it and killed it,” Day said.
“I remember Rory dominating,” said two-time major winner Zach Johnson. “Especially [in] the last so many odd holes, I remember the par-3s being brutal.”