Rory McIlroy's historic win and five talking
points from the World match-play
FROM SKYSPORTS.COM
Rory McIlroy made more
history with his win at the WGC, but he's not the only talking point
from Northern California. Here are the five things we learned this
weekend.
McIlroy doesn’t need to prove anything to anyone but if you wanted further evidence of his class, here it is: In winning the WGC Cadillac World Match Play, McIlroy joined Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as the only players to win 10 PGA tours before their 26th birthday. Add that one to the history list.
Against Paul Casey in the quarter-final, he was one down with two to play. He prevailed at the 22nd hole. Next up in the semi-final against World No 5 Jim Furyk he was again one down on the penultimate tee. What followed was perfect golf; a birdie two on the par three 17th and then a long iron from the rough to the 18th green to set up a 45-footer for eagle. He drained it.
Furyk accepted the defeat with grace and resignation. He’d played the last three holes in one-under but you can’t beat that kind of golf and that’s why McIlroy is presently the best in the game.
Casey heading back to his best
In 2013 Paul Casey had dropped from the world’s top three to 167 in the space of four years. On-and-off the course life wasn’t as bright as it had once been for a man that had played in three Ryder Cups and notched up 12 professional wins.
The 13th win came at the 2013 Irish Open but it was still his only his second title in more than four years. Starting the 2015 season ranked 75th in the world, Casey’s decision to drop his European Tour commitments to limit the volume of travel is paying dividends. He’s back to 34th in the world and over the course of the week beat former World Number 1 Adam Scott, 10th in the 2014 FedEx Cup Chris Kirk and Francesco Molinari before dispatching 2011 Masters champion Charl Schwartzel in the quarter-final.
It took McIlroy 22 holes to finally beat him and even that came after darkness took the match into a second day and illness meant Casey resumed without the benefit of a full night’s sleep and his full powers. On current form Casey can realistically look forward to breaking back into the elite.
Where there’s a Willett, there’s a way
Beaten 3 and 2 by Gary Woodland in the semi-final, perhaps having something extra to play for made the difference for Willett in his own 3 and 2 win over veteran American Jim Furyk.
Victory meant he earned £430,000 instead of £345,000 but more importantly secured his US PGA Tour card. He is now inside the world’s top 40 and the future looks bright on both sides of the pond for the Yorkshireman.
By Jimenez!
Labels: PRO GOLF
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