Rory McIlroy is the king of rips and shanks
It was a strange week in the PGA Tour, but it ended appropriately, with a young gun taking home his first big event on American soil. They say Quail Hollow is the tour's fifth major, and it showed it on Sunday. Who was tops on our rips and who was bottoms on our shanks? Read on.
Rips
Rory McIlroy: Not 12 hours earlier, fellow up-and-comer Ryo Ishikawa shot a final round 58 to win the Japan Tour's Crowns tournament. So what did McIlroy do to upstage Ishikawa? Close with a 10-under 62 at Quail Hollow to win the thing by four shots. It was arguably the biggest day for young players in the history of the game, and McIlroy's back nine 30 led the way.
Phil Mickelson: Earlier in the week, Lefty had to pull out of the Pro-Am because he wasn't feeling great, so expectations couldn't have been that high, right? Well, he finished second behind McIlroy, his second straight top-two finish. He has to be the favorite week in and week out if he keeps playing like this. Maybe fainting is good for the golf game?
Angel Cabrera: We don't get to see him play in non-majors much, but when he does, it seems he always brings his best. Cabrera's third-place finish at Quail Hollow shows yet again that he is one of the best golfers in the world, and no matter the venue, he can sneak away with a title if the putts drop.
Rickie Fowler: Since his second-place finish at the Waste Management Open in February, Fowler has struggled to find his game, but the last two weeks have produced two top-10 finishes, thanks to a final-round 67 on Sunday.
Shanks
Tiger Woods: What more can you say about his Friday? Tiger shot a 79, his worst score as a professional playing in the U.S., and missed the sixth cut of his career. He looked absolutely befuddled with his golf game. We get him next week at the Players, maybe the worst possible place for him to try and repair his confused golf game.
Davis Love III: After Saturday's 68, it looked like Love might actually do something, but as everyone else was going deep in the red on Sunday, DLIII was making bogeys and posting a 76 to drop 15 spots.
Dustin Johnson: After Friday, Johnson was 6-under and in a great spot to win his second event of the year. The Saturday 72 sure didn't help, but it was his Sunday 77, that included five bogeys to start, and seven of his first eight holes, that landed him here.
Zach Johnson: You know he hasn't had a top-10 all season, and although he didn't do anything particularly horrible at Quail Hollow, it was pretty definitive of his year. Nothing terrible, nothing spectacular for the former Masters champion, and another ho-hum finish in the middle of the pack.
