CHARLOTTE, N.C. — For all the remarkable things Rory McIlroy accomplished yesterday en route to winning the Quail Hollow Championship, perhaps the most important thing he did all week came on Friday.
The 20-year-old McIlroy, winning for the first time in America, became the youngest player to win a PGA Tour event since Tiger Woods won the Last Vegas Invitational in 1996, and he did it in the kind of style that will be remembered for a long time.
McIlroy shot a blistering 10-under-par 62 in yesterday’s final round to finish the tournament at 15-under par, blowing away a star-studded leaderboard that included second-place finisher Phil Mickelson (11-under) breathing down his neck one group behind.
McIlroy’s round capped a big Sunday for golf’s young stars. Earlier in the day, 18-year-old Ryo Ishikawa shot a record 58 in the final round to win a title in Japan.
The Irishman’s heroics were made possible by what went happened late Friday after noon, when he made the cut on the number (1-over), thanks to an eagle on his third- to-last hole, the par-5 seventh, where he drilled a 4-iron 206 yards to six feet and made the putt.
“[It was the] most important shot of the year, to be honest,” McIlroy said. “If I don’t make eagle there, I’m practicing at Ponte Vedra (for this week’s Players Championship) this weekend. So yeah, that 3 on 7 on Friday night was very, very important.
“I said after the 66 [on Saturday] that could have been the turning point in my season. I think I’ve confirmed that.”
McIlroy, who shot 6-under par on the weekend on a major championship-caliber golf course, confirmed a lot of things this week.
“He’s won all throughout the world and for him to win here on the PGA Tour before his 21st birthday I just think sets his career off,” Mickelson said. “He’s got all the shots. He’s so young, but he’s got the game of a veteran. I’m so happy for him. I’m just disappointed it’s at my expense.”
Indeed, Mickelson, who entered the day two shots off the lead, believed a round of 68 would be enough to win or at least get into a playoff. As it turned out Mickelson needed a 63 to win.
“You just never expect something like a 62,” Mickelson said. “Sixty-two is one of the best rounds I’ve seen in a long, long time.”
McIlroy, who turns 21 tomorrow, closed the final round with a sizzling 30 on the back nine, which was highlighted by six consecutive 3s (he had 12 of them in the round) to finish.
The most important 3 was the eagle he carded on No. 15, where he nestled a 206-yard 5-iron to within four feet and made the putt. At that moment, Mickelson had just birdied 13 and 14 and was within a shot of him. That eagle was the hammer for McIlroy, setting him apart from the pack.
Shortly after McIlroy, from Northern Ireland, drained his 43-foot birdie putt on the 18th to put an exclamation point on his remarkable weekend, fellow European players Padraig Harrington and Lee Westwood waited around to congratulate him.
“I think it means a lot for him. It’s a big deal for him to come over here and start winning,” Harrington said. “He wasn’t contending, wasn’t winning. [There was] a lot of pressure on him, a lot of focus on the home.”
McIlroy’s caddie, J.P. Fitzgerald called it “huge for him to win over here,” but said he hopes the inevitable comparisons with Woods that are sure to begin flooding in will not be overwhelming for McIlroy.
“Tiger Woods is the greatest player I’ve ever seen,” Fitzgerald said. “To compare Rory to him is totally unfair.”
McIlroy, after the victory, seemed almost bemused by what transpired for him this week.
“I was just happy to make the cut on Friday night,” he said. “I shot a 16-under on the weekend around a golf course like this. You can’t get much more of a confidence boost than that.”