Rory McIlroy’s last major victory came at the 2014 PGA Championship.
That win, his second major at the time, came in unusual circumstances at Valhalla, the scene for this year’s PGA Championship which Rory heads into after news of his divorce from wife Erica Stoll.
The final round of 2014’s championship was thrown into disarray when late summer rain battered the course in Louisville, Kentucky.
Valhalla was drenched, causing a delay in play as tournament leader McIlroy, as well as chasing pack Rickie Fowler, Phil Mickelson and Henrik Stenson, faced a race against time to finish on the final Sunday amid fading daylight after the restart.
The Northern Irishman held a two-stroke lead on the 17th but darkness threatened to push the tournament back to Monday.
Thankfully, Mickelson and Fowler’s selfless gesture and amazing show of sportsmanship allowed the youngster to finish before the close of play on Sunday.
The American pair stood aside on the 18th hole to allow the final group to tee off with them and play their approaches to the green.
In a bizarre scene, all six golfers from the final three pairings were on the fairway together.
McIlroy went on to par the home hole to card a closing round 68, finishing one shot ahead of Mickelson.
After winning his fourth major championship, McIlroy thanked Mickelson and Fowler for allowing him to finish.
“I want to thank Phil and Rickie for letting us tee off, if they didn’t then it would have been a struggle to finish. It showed a lot of sportsmanship and class from those two guys,” he said.
Asked if he considered not finishing the hole, McIlroy added: “No, I wanted to win this thing and get out of here! It was very tough with the bunker shot and the depth perception so I decided to just chunk it out there, take my two putts and run.”
However, it appeared Mickelson rather begrudgingly stepped aside to let McIlroy finish his championship-winning round.
“It didn’t affect the outcome I think. It’s not what we normally do but it’s not a big deal,” he said.
“It’s a courteous thing to let the guys tee off in case they blow the horn. It gave everyone a chance to finish just in the nick of time.”
McIlroy will now return to Valhalla for the 2024 PGA Championship searching for a fifth major the last of which came ten years ago on Kentucky course.
McIlroy’s recent split from partner Stoll is less than ideal preparation, however, his recent form and win at the Wells Fargo Championship has some fans saying ‘Single Rory’ is set to dominate the field.
News Summary:
- Rory McIlroy was stunned by Phil Mickelson and Rickie Fowler’s unusual gesture during bizarre PGA Championship finish
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