McIlroy Dominates Field to Win PGA Championship

Rory McIlroy smiles as he holds the trophy declaring him the winner of the 2012 PGA Championship. (Andrew Redington)

When Rory McIlroy cruised to a record-setting U.S. Open win, many thought the youngster’s career would take off from there. A year full of ups, downs, triumphs, and struggles left many wondering if McIlroy was ready to be golf’s best in the world. Many began to question whether or not his dominance in his first major win was merely a fluke chance of luck. After a poor finish to the British Open, McIlroy came into the PGA Championship at Kiawah Island somewhat under the radar.

McIlroy played well the first two rounds, but something seemed to click Sunday morning. Due to a storm-delayed third round, he finished off that round with back-to-back birdies to finish the round with a 67 and a three-shot lead. From that point on, no one got closer to McIlroy than two shots. He played bogey-free gold over the final 23 holes dominating the course from start to finish. McIlroy sunk a 25-foot birdie on the 18th hole to complete his 6-under round of 66. He ended up winning by an incredible eight shots, which broke the PGA Championship record for margin of victory set by Jack Nicklaus in 1980.

McIlroy isn’t the only one who had a great tournament. David Lynn came into the PGA Championship as a relative unknown. The 38-year-old from England was playing in his first major and in the United States for the very first time. Lynn finished the tournament shooting a 68 in the last two rounds to finish as runner-up to McIlroy. Not bad for a guy playing in his first major. The finish also earned Lynn a place in the Masters next year.

Another player who deserves his due is Seung-Yul Noh. The 21-year-old had the lowest round of the day Sunday with a seven-under 65. Noh’s impressive final round moved him up 37 spots on the leaderboard to earn him a Top 25 finish in the PGA Championship. It was an excellent showing by the youngster, who is two years younger than McIlroy.

When it is all said and done though, Rory McIlroy was the star of the PGA Championship. His performance was dominating in every way. McIlroy had 13 birdies compared to only two bogeys over the weekend en-route to his eight-shot win. He became the youngest player since Steve Ballesteros to win two majors. The win also returns McIlroy to #1 in the worrld. The question becomes whether or not he will be able to use this performance as a launching pad for future success. Rory McIlroy  undoubtedly has the talent to be the best in the world. Now we just have to see if he can find the consistency to perform at that top level all of the time.