McIlory breaks through at Quail Hollow
BY Bruce Young | US PGA Tour | 2010 Quail Hollow Championship | Round Four | 03 May 2010
Rory McIlroy continued what has been a magnificent week for rising stars in the game when he produced a final round of 62 to win the Quail Hollow Championship in Charlotte in North Carolina.
16 hours after yet another brilliant youngster, Ryo Ishikawa, had recorded a final round of 58 to win the Crowns tournament on the Japan Golf Tour, the 20 year old McIlroy was running away with one of the more significant events on the PGA Tour.
The victory was McIlory’s first in the US and just his second as a professional but such has been the consistency of his game that he had risen to the world number 13 even before this victory and given the strength of the field he defeated this week, will now find himself well inside the top ten.
McIlroy turns 21 on Tuesday and a breakthrough victory on the PGA Tour could not have provided a better present for the man from Hollywood in Northern Ireland.
Phil Mickelson appeared as if he would be the man to beat as third round leader Billy Mayfair began to falter through his opening nine holes, but McIlroy took control of the event when he made the turn in 32 and the further they went the further he went ahead.
He rubbed salt in the wounds of others with a closing stretch that included three birdies and an eagle in his last five holes, the eagle coming at the 15th after his second from 207 yards finished 4 feet from the hole. He capped it all off with a huge putt at the last from 40 feet or so and by then nobody could change the outcome.
Mickelson birdied the last from 14 feet to edge ahead of Angel Cabrera and take outright second position. Mickelson birdied five of his last eight holes and his second place finish closes the gap even further in the world rankings between he and Tiger Woods in the world rankings.
Matt Jones was the leading Australian finishing in 7th position and earning another US$175,000. It was Jones’ fourth top ten of the season.
Aron Price and Robert Allenby were 17th, Jason Day 22nd, Geoff Ogilvy 38th, Jarrod Lyle 43rd, Greg Chalmers 48th, Aaron Baddeley 51st, Rod Pampling 63rd and Stuart Appleby 69th.
