Rory McIlroy is confident he can turn a B- season into an A+ by claiming a third US PGA Championship title in the space of five years. Mickelson won the PGA Championship in 2005 while Stenson’s top finish was third and tied for third in 2013 and 2014, respectively.
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The 46-year-old United States left-hander returns to Baltusrol, where he won the 2005 PGA title, intent upon not letting a chance to win a major title pass due to disappointment. There’s no real hidden secrets to it.
There was the opening-round 71 at Whistling Straits, the highlight quality shots, the national television interview on Sunday and the photos with champion Jason Day, now the No. 1 player in the world, on the 18th green.
“I feel there’s been times where I got a little bit of momentum and then sort of got set back a little bit”, said McIlroy. “It’s been a little stop-start in a way”. But it’s hard. I’m trying to stay as positive as I can.
“Baltusrol is my type of golf I guess, and I feel like I can really do well this week”.
“I don’t believe that there is a small window”, he said.
This year, his best finish in a major came at the Masters as he placed second in an event he most definitely should have won.
“I think it’s one of those things”, he said Tuesday at Baltusrol Golf Club, site of this week’s event, “where I’ll look back over time and my disappointment will probably increase, because I think it’s the first time in my career that I have played to that level of golf and not had it be enough to win a tournament”.
Okay, granted, my sleepers aren’t as likely to win as Jason Day or Jordan Spieth and if you bet more than $5 on any of them, well don’t complain to me when you lose your money.
Padraig Harrington, a three-times major victor including the 2008 PGA, issued a caution. “I could retire at 40 and be very happy”. We’ve seen in the past that it’s achievable. “[But] I have it [the Claret Jug] for a year, so there might be a few more sips”.
At first, McIlroy was apprehensive about any tweaks to the venue, and for good reason – he’s won twice (2010, ’15), posted the course record (61) and finished in the top 10 in four of his other five appearances there. Henrik Stenson was victorious at Royal Troon and he can be backed at 16s, while Mickelson, who joined the Swede for an epic final-round duel at The Open, is 22-1.
A number of special bets can be placed, including who will be the top American – with Johnson the 11-4 favourite – and you can get 11-4 on there being a play-off to determine the victor.
Last summer, the 45-year-old Westfield native was the lone club professional to make the cut at the PGA Championship. “So that’s kind of the goal and the game plan to not try to force the issue, but to just go play and trust that I’m hitting a lot of good shots and trust that my putter has been good and that I’ll make some putts and just try to go shoot a number and not try to worry about it”.
Korea’s Byeong Hun An came out on top in the long drive contest at the US PGA Championship, much to McIlroy’s dismay. She is 155th out of 160 players in driving distance, averaging 239.7 yards.
Jerome Travers, an amateur, made the turn in the final round knowing he needed a solid closing nine to win the title, but he began the home-stretch with an terrible shot, a ball struck by a driving iron sliced out of bounds on the 10th.
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McIlroy need not look for added inspiration. “Looking back, I was just so happy to be able to do something like that”. I felt like I handled the conditions pretty well that I had to play in. Each day this week, we’re asking them what advice they give their students that they’re going to use themselves while taking on the best in the world. “We have a longer list maybe than you would think”.
