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The McIlroy Critics
Eyes rubbed, jaws dropped and heads turned… McIlroy arrived at Sawgrass beneath the golfing world’s microscope. It was all getting a bit surreal. Something had to give. What seemed more likely, he’d finally get over the line and win or he’d stop finishing in the top six?
McIlroy entered Sunday knowing that, if he did not come out on top, it would be another Sunday failure. Some had been his own doing and some, such is the nature of golf, were just downright rotten luck. It seemed that every pundit in golf was siding with the monkey that clung so interminably to his back; obsessing over Sundays and refusing to give credit for Thursday, Friday or Saturday. This relentless besmirching of world class golf irked me, but this simply made McIlroy’s cool-headed nature even more impressive.
But now that monkey is gone, and golf pundits across the globe have wasted no time in switching sides.
Living Up to the Hype
The buzz around TPC Sawgrass felt bigger than ever, and that’s saying something. The move to March put The Players- dubbed the Fifth Major- before any official Major. This did little to separate it from Major conversations. In fact, this felt like the perfect curtain-raiser to Major Season 2019. Tiger Woods was once again a genuine contender, the World No. 1 spot is a hotter seat than ever before and Rory McIlroy is in eye-rubbing, jaw-dropping, head-turning (winless) form approaching his latest shot at the career Grand Slam. Florida had a gargantuan billing on its hands.
How it Happened
Tommy Fleetwood soared to a flawless opening 7-under 65 before starting Friday with birdie-eagle-birdie en-route to a 67. McIlroy matched those scores in reverse order. But Friday belonged to American Ryder Cup Captain Jim Furyk, who shot a bogey-free 64.
Jon Rahm conjured up a Saturday 64 courtesy of 7 birdies and an eagle; catapulting himself into the overnight lead (-15). One behind the Spaniard, McIlroy and Fleetwood shared second; two clear of Jason Day (-12).
Rahm handed away the lead with three bogeys on the first four holes and two more- plus a double- on the back nine left him +4 for the day and -11 (T12) for the week. Eddie Pepperell and Jhonattan Vegas both jumped 13 places with closing 66 rounds and putts that have to be seen to be believed for T3 finishes (-14). Jim Furyk re-emerged in contention with a 67, and Fleetwood’s 73 (T5, -13) meant that was enough for solo second. World No. 1 Dustin Johnson was a model of consistency (69-68-69-69) for his first Top-10 at this event; sharing fifth with Fleetwood and Brandt Snedeker. Meanwhile, Justin Rose capped an incredible comeback from a Thursday +2 to finish T8 with a run of 66-68-68.
The Winner
It looked an eerily familiar story when the Northern Irishman struck a double bogey on the fourth. The ensuing five holes before the turn yielded two birdies and a bogey… Then he became Rory McIlroy again. Back-to-back birdies on 11 and 12 got him back under par as he tied Jim Furyk’s 15-under clubhouse lead. He handed one back at the 14th to fall back into second, before back-to-back birdies on 15-16 gave him a lead, which he refused to squander with clutch pars at the iconic 17th and par-4 18th. A stellar display earned his 24th professional victory, becoming the first man to lift the new Players Championship Trophy.
That's "Six Top-6 finishes and one win in six starts"... Sounds so much better, doesn't it?
Rory McIlroy – What’s in the Bag?
Driver: TaylorMade M5
Fairway Wood: TaylorMade M5
Irons: TaylorMade P790 (2-iron), TaylorMade P750 (3-4 irons), TaylorMade P730 (5-9 irons)
Wedges: TaylorMade Milled Grind Wedge, TaylorMade MG Hi-Toe Wedges
Putter: TaylorMade Spider X Putter
Golf Ball: TaylorMade TP5 2019
Written by Joe Carabini
