Timing is everything, and Rory McIlroy – without a win on tour in eight months – retained his RBC Canadian Open title with a wonderful performance of shot-making and dialled-in wedge play to sign for a closing round of 62 for a total of 19-under-par 261, which gave him a two-stroke winning margin over Tony Finau.
It gave the Northern Irishman the perfect momentum heading into this week’s US Open at Brookline in Massachusetts, his performance – overcoming a couple of speed bumps on the journey in, as Justin Thomas put up a strong challenge only to run out of steam down the stretch – acclaimed by the Canadian galleries who serenaded him to roars of “Rory, Rory” and cries of “Ole-Ole-Ole” as he approached the 18th green.
McIlroy, who had former Ulster rugby player Niall O’Connor on his bag deputising for regular bagman Harry Diamond whose wife was expecting a baby, earned $1.56 million for his first win since the CJ Cup last October and moved to fourth in the updated FedEx Cup standings on the PGA Tour.
“It’s incredible, this is a day I will remember for a long time. I’m happy to get it done … I think after Covid I needed a complete reset, realised what makes me happy and this makes me happy. I have a super team and it makes it easier for me to go and do things like I did today,” said McIlroy.
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McIlroy’s front nine was a masterclass, as he took one stride after another in confidently taking control of his own destiny.
It started with a 26-feet putt for birdie on the first which brought the first of many fisted punches into the air. He birdied the fourth (four feet), chipped in for a two at the par-three sixth, hit a wonderful wedge approach to four feet on the seventh and turned in 29 strokes with a birdie on the par-five ninth.
His wonder run continued. On the 10th, where he nearly drove the green, he chipped dead; hit a wedge approach from 11 yards on the par-four 11th to 18 inches and then claimed a fourth successive birdie on the 12th where he rolled in a 40-footer to open up a three-stroke lead and seemingly on course for a win.
McIlroy’s first blip arrived on the 13th, where he three-putted the par three for a bogey. And, again, it was a short hole that proved his undoing. His tee shot finished in the front greenside bunker and he splashed out to 10 feet, but failed to hole the par putt. Suddenly, he was in a share of the lead with US PGA champion Thomas.
The 17th hole proved decisive, though. McIlroy, with a wedge from 125 yards, hit his approach shot to 18 inches and rolled in the birdie putt. It would prove to be a two-shot swing in the battle for the title, as Thomas’s approach from the right rough came up short of the green and he failed to get up and down to save par. Thomas also bogeyed the 18th, and was overtaken for second by Finau who rolled in a long birdie putt.
McIlroy, for his part, finished in style with an approach six feet above the hole which he gently rolled down and in for a closing birdie to seal his defence in style.
England’s Justin Rose closed out with a final round 60, his chance to become the 13th player on the PGA Tour to post a sub-60 round undone by a flyer on the 18th which airmailed the green into rough and led to a closing bogey.
Rose – who had three eagles, seven birdies and three bogeys in his round – got off to a terrific start in holing out with his approach to the first for an eagle two. “I felt like was a lovely lift. I was kind of able to keep the pedal to the metal and keep the momentum going and played my way into a great position to try and win the tournament. So it was a lot of fun.
“I’m totally disappointed, yeah. Because you know what’s at stake, for sure. You’re really just playing the last hole – I never shot 59 before – so it would have been a lovely footnote on the week,” said Rose who finished on 266.
Shane Lowry claimed a tied-10th place finish with a finishing round of 66 for 271, nine under par.
Meanwhile, the United States won the Curtis Cup for a third straight time with a dominant 15½ to 4½ win over Britain and Ireland in the women’s amateur team match played at Merion Golf Club in Philadelphia.
Rose Zhang set the tone for the USA dominance in the final day singles, beating British Amateur champion Louise Duncan while Rachel Heck completed an unbeaten series with a 2 and 1 win over Castlewarden’s Lauren Walsh.
Walsh actually had a decent Curtis Cup campaign in defeat, as the Co Kildare golfer earned one and a half points.
