Day 4 Wrap up: McIlroy Mettle Captures Major Number 4

Post by sports writer Derek Clements

Just when you think that you have seen it all, along comes Rory McIlroy and a stunning sporting cast and together they deliver performances that leave you begging for more. If there has ever been a better final day in a major championship than this one, I haven't seen it. The 2014 US PGA Championship at Valhalla will go down in history as one of the best of all time.

And when it was all done, McIlroy had won his third tournament on the trot, his second successive major and his fourth in all. Only Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods had won four majors by the time they were 25, the age McIlroy is now. Those are the facts, but they tell nothing of the drama. And what drama we saw.

To those who demean this grand old event, this was proof positive that it deserves its place as a major. McIlroy may not cherish the Wannamaker Trophy in quite the same way as he does the Claret Jug, but don't forget that this is the second time he has won this tournament. No matter what, it means plenty to him.

The really bad news for those who hope to challenge McIlroy, and perhaps ever beat him from time to time, is that he won this tournament without being at his best.

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However, this is a golfer who averages around 320 yards from the tee, hits more fairways than most and, as a result of hitting so many short-iron approaches, gives himself countless birdies tries. He is magnificent from the sand and possesses a superb short game. In other words, he has no weaknesses. The bottom line is this - if McIlroy putts well, he wins. It's as simple as that.

Will he dominate golf in the way that Woods did? Much will depend on his mood and his motivation. He will complete the career Grand Slam, probably by winning The Masters next year. And he will win more majors. He has the game to win 10, 15, 20 of the things, but remember that just 12 months ago he was in the middle of slump. He is an instinctive player, somebody who depends on feel, rather than playing by numbers.

The script had McIlroy coasting to a second successive major title. The reality saw Rickie Fowler and Phil Mickelson, playing together, trading birdies while, up ahead, Henrik Stenson was enjoying the round of his life.

McIlroy, you will remember, began the round with a one-shot lead on 13 under par. By the time he walked off the sixth green he was chasing shadows, having dropped two shots.

Fowler, on the other hand, followed a dropped shot at the second with four birdies to reach the turn in 32. And another at the 10th took him to 15 under par. Mickelson? Four birdies in a front nine of 31 and another at the 11th. There were also a couple of outrageous par saves. 15 under. Stenson was even better - he birdied the first, third, fifth, seventh and ninth. The Swede reached the turn in 30. Then another birdie at the 13th. Yes, you've guessed it. 15 under.

And McIlroy? Well, there was a birdie at the seventh, but that only took him to 12 under. He was three adrift and looking for a miracle. It came at the par-five 10. Nobody had hit the green in two all day. McIlroy did, striking a three wood to six feet and holing the putt for the eagle that took him to 14 under.

And he should also have birdied the 11th and 12th after majestic iron shots.

This was as strong a leaderboard as we have had on the final day of a major for some time. The absence of Tiger Woods apart, the PGA of America must have been licking their lips at the prospect of what lay ahead. What a cast we had. McIlroy, Mickelson, Fowler, Jason Day, Louis Oosthuizen, Stenson, Steve Stricker, Jim Furyk, Adam Scott, Hunter Mahan, Mikko Ilonen, Jamie Donaldson, Ryan Palmer, Graeme DeLaet.

As huge black clouds gathered overhead, it seemed certain that the final round would be hit by weather delays and, sure enough, the heavens opened and Valhalla's greens quickly became waterlogged. Before long, there were rivers of water running across some of the greens and there were doubts as to whether the players would get back on the course and the leaders would even tee off.

An army of greenkeepers did their best to brush the rainwater away, but it was a huge task. A babbling brook that runs through Valhalla had become a raging torrent but as the rain eased off so the water disappeared.

And there was a bigger headache to deal with. The early starters had teed up in dry conditions, which meant that unless they were all asked to begin again, there could be no question of lift, clean and place. Parts of certain fairways were saturated, and there was little doubt that we would see many plugged drives or, at the very least, balls covered with mud.

But the PGA had a solution for that too. Hundreds of towels were placed on top of the dampest parts of the fairways and staff stamped upon them, trying to draw the worst of the moisture from the ground. You just had to admire their ingenuity, just as you had to admire the stoicism of the fans, who remained as the rain tumbled down and were rewarded with a resumption of play.

A total of 80 minutes had been lost.

The first big move of the day was made by Ernie Els. Having opened with a couple of pars, he birdied the third, fourth, fifth and sixth holes and, at nine under par, was only four behind McIlroy, who had yet to start. A fifth birdie of the day at the ninth took him out in 30 and moved him to 10 under.

The day began with McIlroy on 13 under par, leading Bernd Weisberger by one. Ilonen and Stenson both birdied the first and third to go 11 under, while Fowler also birdied the opening hole to join the Scandinavians. When Mickelson birdied the first and third to move within a shot of the lead, the crowd could barely contain their excitement. And he was muttering to himself after failing to hole another birdie putt at the fourth. His playing partner, Fowler, did make his birdie putt, however, to go 12 under.
What a start we had. After opening with two pars, McIlroy stood on the third tee with 20 players separated by five shots.
Els continued his brilliant form on the back nine, holing a long putt for a birdie two at the 11th to reduce the gap to McIlroy to two but he couldn't maintain it and finished his work on 11 under.

The Northern Irishman, meanwhile, dropped a shot at the third and with Stenson picking up a birdie at the fifth, we had five men tied at 12 under - McIlroy, Fowler, Weisberger, Mickelson and the Swede. It was incredible stuff. And it continued until we were left with four men standing - Mickelson, Fowler, Stenson and McIlroy.

Stenson was the first to blink, missing an 18-inch par putt at the par-three14th.

McIlroy struck another imperious shot to the green at the 13th and this time he holed it to join Mickelson and Fowler at 15 under. Having played the first six holes in two over, he had played the next seven in four under. He reached the tee at the 14th just in time to see the result of Fowler's shot, way right of the green.

The American finished fifth at The Masters and second at both the US Open and The Open, and he didn't want another near-miss here. However, he couldn't save par at the 14th. Incredibly, McIlroy and Mickelson were tied for the lead. But could they get the job done before darkness fell? Not if there was a playoff, that was for sure.

We all thought that Mickelson was kidding nobody but himself on Thursday when he told us that he had found something. If he could win this thing he would turn his season around in the blink of an eye.

Fowler was clearly beginning to feel the pressure and at the 16th hit his worst drive of the week, almost finding the 15th fairway. He was left with 212 yards to the green and had to hit a huge hook if he was to reach the green. Such was the time Fowler took to hit his second that McIlroy chose to hit his drive before the American played. Having hit his worst shot of the week, Fowler struck one of his best, clearing the trees and landing on the front of the green. He was 100 feet from the hole but saved his par.

On the same hole, Mickelson missed the green in two and dropped a shot. All of a sudden, McIlroy was back in the lead on his own.

Stenson needed an eagle at the 18th. Instead he hooked his approach to the par five, finished up in the mud and failed to reach the green. Finally, his race was run. A 66 it was and another great finish in a major for the Swede.

With darkness fast approaching, Fowler and Mickelson scrambled pars at the 17th, so they went to the last tied on 14 under. Immediately behind them, McIlroy drove into the fairway bunker and then hit another approach to eight feet. Another birdie would surely give him the title. And, of course, he got it. At 16 under, he was now two ahead.

Only an eagle would do for Mickelson and Fowler. Both men were still on the tee when McIlroy and Weisberger arrived and it was getting so dark that the two Europeans hit their drives before the Americans reached theirs.

Mickelson almost holed his third shot but had to settle for a birdie. Then it was Fowler's turn but his eagle try never threatened the hole and he ended with a par. Mickelson 15 under. Fowler 14 under.

But the drama wasn't quite finished yet. McIlroy put his second shot into a greenside bunker, leaving himself the task of getting down in three from about 40 yards. He hit a poor bunker shot but rolled the putt stone dead to win by a shot. With rounds of 66, 67, 67 and 68 he finished on 16 under par.

There will be some who will say that the course was too easy for a major. Nonsense. There was nothing that the PGA could do about the weather - all the rain meant the greens were soft and receptive, but the shots still had to be played. And McIlroy played them better than anybody else - just!

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Derek Clements is a sports journalist with a particular passion for golf with over 12 years of experience covering golf and other sports including Chief Sub-Editor on the sports desk of The Sunday Times. To contact Derek email direct via [email protected]