McIlroy Fightback Earns BMW PGA Championship Win

Post by Sports Writer Derek Clements

THE week began with Rory McIlroy fighting back tears as he told the world that his relationship with Caroline Wozniacki was over, and it ended with him beaming from ear to ear as he produced an astonishing final-round comeback to win the BMW PGA championship at Wentworth.

The 25-year-old started the final round seven shots off the pace and only led for the first time when he holed a birdie putt at the 71st hole. Like a thoroughbred racehorse coming down the final straight, he timed his run to perfection.

It was an extraordinary turnaround for the Northern Irishman, whose 66 was the lowest of the day. Many thought he would struggle to make the cut, far less have the wherewithal to come up with the shots that would allow him to win the event.

But McIlroy is a special talent and he was able to take advantage of his own wonderful play and a dramatic collapse by Thomas Bjorn.

When he walked off the first green, Bjorn led by six shots and was cruising towards victory that would be a procession. All that he had to do, surely, was keep the ball in play and make lots of pars.

But by the time he had completed the sixth hole, he was tied for the lead with Shane Lowry after failing to escape from a fairway bunker and running up a triple-bogey seven. Unbelievably, Luke Donald, playing with Bjorn, also took seven on the same hole after tangling with the trees.

And things were to get a whole lot worse for Bjorn before the day was done. In the end, it wasn't Lowry who would deny the big Dane.

McIlroy started steadily, reeling off three pars before an eagle at the par-five fourth, after the ball hovered on the edge of the hole for a few seconds before deciding to topple in. Even so, there was no hint at that point that McIlroy was doing anything other than playing for second place - and especially so when he dropped a shot at the sixth. He got it back with a fine birdie at the seventh, but dropped another stroke at the ninth, reaching the turn in an unspectacular 34.

What Bjorn would have given for such a score. He completed the front nine in a miserable 39 and looked shellshocked. He had led the championship ever since his 62 in the first round.

Lowry looked the man most likely to triumph after an eagle-birdie burst at the fourth and fifth but he, too, dropped a shot at the ninth and reached the turn at 11 under par. The burly Irishman, who has been having a shocking season, then birdied the 10th, 11th and 12th holes to lead by three. But a double-bogey six at the 13th was the last thing he needed.

McIlroy, meanwhile, was making serne progress. He birdied the 10th, missed a short putt for another at the 11th, and picked up further shots at the 12th and 13th.

Suddenly people were asking: "He couldn't, could he?" You bet he could.

Three pars followed, before the double major champion birdied the 17th and 18th holes to set the target at 14 under par.
First to try and match him was Lowry, but when he failed to pick up a four at the par-five 17th, it meant he needed an eagle at the 18th to tie. He could only manage a birdie.

To his credit, Bjorn birdied the 16th and 17th, but could only par the final hole and finished two behind, alongside Donald, who was unable to take advantage of either of the par-five finishing holes. But the Englishman did well to record a final round of 70 after his horror show at the sixth.

McIlroy said: "It's been 18 months since I won on The European Tour and to win the flagship event, I could not have asked for any more. I knew coming in here I was playing well. I struggled a little on Friday but played great over the weekend. I was a little fortunate that some of the guys ahead of me made mistakes and I took advantage of it.

"My caddie JP [Fitzgerald] set me the target of 15 under today. I didn't quite get there but 14 under was enough. I really wanted to win before going into the second major of the season [the US Open from June 12-15] and I could not have asked for a better way to prepare."

The victory moves McIlroy up to sixth in the world rankings and second to Bjorn in the Race to Dubai.

Almost 24,000 people poured through the gates for the final round at Wentworth, with the attendance for the week reaching 93,913.

Henrik Stenson finished in a tie for seventh place and would have hoped it would be good enough to take him to the top of the world rankings. Unfortunately for the Swede, Adam Scott, the incumbent, had other ideas. Playing in the Crowne Plaza International at Colonial, Fort Worth, Scott needed to finish no worse than 13th to keep hold of his top ranking, and he did so with some ease.

Image Credit: Facebook European Tour

Derek Clements is a sports journalist with a particular passion for golf with over 12 years of experience covering golf and other sports including Chief Sub-Editor on the sports desk of The Sunday Times. To contact Derek email direct via [email protected]

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