McIlroy plans to have fun, then focus on THE PLAYERS
By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM Chief of Correspondents
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Midway through his second round on Friday, Rory McIlroy was contemplating a weekend on the practice range at TPC Sawgrass rather than seeing the Quail Hollow Championship to its conclusion.
Instead, the apple-cheeked 20-year-old from Northern Ireland now enters THE PLAYERS Championship among the favorites as the PGA TOUR's newest champion after closing with an eye-popping 62 to beat Masters champ Phil Mickelson by four.
McIlroy was nothing short of phenomenal on Sunday as he made an eagle and eight birdies -- the last on a spine-tingling, 43-foot putt punctuated by multiple fist pumps and greeted by deafening cheers -- to notch the lowest final round by a winner in six years.
"It's one of those moments that you'll always remember," McIlroy said. "When it went in, I couldn't believe it. I looked at (my caddy) J.P. and I was like, this was incredible."
McIlroy was scheduled to fly to Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., on Sunday night. The turnaround is quick. He has an 11 a.m. tee time on Monday on the Stadium Course for a practice round with Adam Scott that he plans to keep.
McIlroy is reserving Tuesday for some fun, though -- it's his 21st birthday, after all. He's the youngest winner since his idol Tiger Woods won the 1996 Walt Disney World Classic at the age of 20 years, nine months and 20 days.
"(I'll) have a good time Tuesday night, (but) not too good," McIlroy said with an aw-shucks grin. "I'll have to try and prepare properly for the tournament. It's a huge week coming up next week, as well.
"But you know, I'm going to enjoy this, and I'm going to enjoy my birthday and get focused on Wednesday morning and get ready to play there, because ... that golf course is very tough, as well, and you need to be on your game to do well around there."
McIlroy certainly was hitting on all cylinders over the weekend at Quail Hollow, though. After making the cut on the number, he shot 16 under in the final two rounds to become the first player to win from that position since Chris Couch at the 2006 Zurich Classic of New Orleans.
And he can trace it all back to that 4-iron he hit into the breeze on the seventh hole, his 16th on Friday, to set up an 8-footer for eagle. When it fell, he went from 3 over to 1 over and two pars later, McIlroy had a Saturday tee time and the rest, as he joked, is "history.
"Most important shot of the year, to be honest," McIlroy said. "... I said after the 66 yesterday, that could have been the turning point in my season. But I think today I've confirmed that."
McIlroy's victory was a popular one. Padraig Harrington, a three-time major champion from Dublin, waited around nearly two hours to congratulate him. Lee Westwood, the man who beat McIlroy in last year's European Tour Race to Dubai, was there, too, along with Jim Furyk and Aaron Baddeley.
"I think it means a lot for him,' Harrington said. "... It's a big deal for him to come over here and start winning over here. He wasn't contending, wasn't winning, and if he can get across the line it makes it a lot easier for him going forward, and I think it could make a big difference to his career."
Mickelson, who has now finished first and second in his last two starts, couldn't help but be impressed. He knows what it's like to carry expectations, too, after winning the Northern Telecom Open when he was still a student at Arizona State.
"He's got all the shots, he's got the game of a veteran and he's a class act," said Mickelson, who shot a more-than-competitive 68 on Sunday. "He's fun to be around. You can't help but pull for him.
"62 is one of the best rounds I've seen in a long, long time. It was very impressive. He's an impressive player. He's also a wonderful person, so I'm happy for him."
McIlroy was clearly touched by the outpouring of support from his peers.
"It's nice that the guys want me to do well," McIlroy said. "And to have a good bunch of people around you and a good bunch of friends out here definitely helps because when you're not playing well, it can be a lonely place at times."
McIlroy, who hadn't had a top-10 since he left the Middle East in January, was in that place after the Masters when he shot rounds of 74 and 77 and headed home to Holywood. He took a few days off and then he gave himself a pep talk.
"I just said, ... look, there's no point in feeling sorry for yourself here," McIlroy said. "You're not playing great, you need to go and work. I was hitting it well, and I felt as if all parts of my game were pretty good, but it was putting it all together on the golf course."
Rounds at Royal County Down and Royal Portrush, where McIlroy shot 67 last week, gave him confidence. And he felt an instant attraction to Quail Hollow, which he likened to Augusta National -- even down to the tree-lined drive toward the clubhouse.
McIlroy didn't have his best stuff the first two rounds, until the seventh hole on Friday, that is. His third-round 66 put him within striking distance, though, just four behind Billy Mayfair, and when he "absolutely flushed it" on the practice range Sunday morning, McIlroy knew he had a shot.
With Sunday's victory, McIlroy, who has now won on both sides of the Atlantic, has moved back into the top-10 in the world for the second time. Maybe now the expectations he's felt weighing on his slender shoulders over the past year can be shelved.
"Sometimes you need to sit back and say, look, you're only 20, 21 years old, and you're doing pretty well, and just putting things in perspective a little bit," McIlroy said.
"I was probably trying to get to that point too soon the way I was pushing and pushing, and it probably wasn't great for my game. After the Masters I've just tried to free it all up, relax a little bit and just go out and play.
"And it's obviously worked this week, and hopefully I can have that same attitude going into the rest of the season."
Starting this week at TPC Sawgrass.
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