‘In the zone,’ McIlroy rolls to 7-shot win
Four-time major champion closes out with 61 in Canada
ANCASTER, Ontario — Call it the zone, call it the flow. Rory McIlroy is familiar with the feeling that golf is easy, that he can swing freely and nothing bad will happen.
He first felt it at age 16 when he shot 61 at Royal Portrush in his native Northern Ireland, which will host this year’s British Open. He experienced it during runaway victories at the U.S. Open and the PGA Championship. And he savored it again Sunday en route to another 61, this one giving him a seven-shot victory in the Canadian Open.
“I think when you play, you get into stretches like this, you do get into some sort of flow, that flow state or in the zone or whatever anyone wants to call it. I definitely got into that a little bit today at the start of the back nine. It was the same that day at Portrush all those years ago,” McIlroy said. “It’s almost like you’re out of your own body and looking at yourself play. For some times today that’s how it felt. So if I could bottle that feeling and take it with me week to week, I would. Sort of comes and goes.”
McIlroy added the Canadian Open to his schedule for the first time largely because it was moved to the week before the U.S. Open. He turned the major-championship tuneup into a career highlight, becoming the sixth player to win national championships in the U.S., Britain and Canada. Lee Trevino (1971) and Tiger Woods (2000) are the only players to win all three in the same season, something McIlroy could do this year with victories next week at Pebble Beach and at Royal Portrush in July.
It was McIlroy’s fifth win in a national open, following the U.S. Open (2011), Australian Open (2013), British Open (2014) and Irish Open (2016). McIlroy also counts the Hong Kong Open (2011) as part of his national-championship tally.
“Some of the greats of the game have won this trophy. For me to put my name on it is something I’m very proud of,” McIlroy said. “Part of the reason for playing here was I wanted my game to be in good shape for Pebble Beach, but (it) doesn’t mean this tournament doesn’t mean anything.”
Starting the day in a three-way tie for the lead, McIlroy ended any suspense about who would emerge as the champion with five birdies in his first seven holes, none from longer than 8 feet.
McIlroy earned his 16th PGA Tour victory and 25th win worldwide, and the fourth by at least seven shots.
Shane Lowry and Webb Simpson tied for second at 15 under.
Adam Hadwin, seeking to become the first Canadian winner of the event since 1954, closed with a 70 and finished sixth, 10 shots back. His consolation prize was a spot in the British Open.