2012 PGA Championship Wrap-up

So how did the PGA Championship go at the rainy, hot, windy, and alligator-filled Kiawah Island? Well my Rockheads, scroll down for the answers.

Rory McIlroy wins big!

With his win Sunday, Rory McIlroy has proven that he’s not just a one hit wonder. He took the lead Sunday with back-to-back birdies and didn’t let anyone get close.  Then McIlroy didn’t make a bogey on any of the last 23 holes. The young North Irishman finished the championship with a round of 66 to bring him to 13-under par for the tournament. The next closest player was David Lynn, playing in the U.S. for the first time, with 5-under par. This victory returns McIlroy to the No. 1 spot in the world rankings. Not only did he win, but he broke records all over the place. He broke Nicklaus’ record in a PGA Championship for margin of victory, became the youngest player to win the PGA Championship since World War 11, secured two major victories four months earlier than Tiger Woods, and becomes the first player from the U.K. since Tommy Armour in 1930 to win the PGA. Quite a lot for someone who’s only 23 years old.

Top Finishers

1. McIlroy (-13)
2. Lynn (-5)
T-3. Rose (-4)
T-3. Bradley (-4)
T-3. Poulter (-4)
T-3. Pettersson (-4)

Golf Digest reports that McIlroy won it with this bag:

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x
Driver: Titleist 913D3 (Mitsubishi Diamana prototype), 8.5 degrees
3-wood: Titleist 906F2, 13 degrees
5-wood: Titleist 910F, 17 degrees
Irons (3-9): Titleist MB; (PW): Titleist Vokey SM4
Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM4 (54, 60 degrees)
Putter: Scotty Cameron by Titleist GSS

How did the rest do?

David Lynn — Yeah he’s the runner-up, shouldn’t that be cool enough? Well here’s why this guy deserves more attention. On his first weekend playing in America, the 38-year old Englishman managed to score rounds of 68-68. Ok, so he finished 8 points back, but get this: Lynn was playin’ in his first major in nine years. He also secured his place in the Masters.

Phil Mickelson — Even though he finished T-36 and was never anywhere near the leaders during the final round, he still managed to get the eighth and final automatic Ryder Cup spot.

Seung-Yul Noh — This 21-year old had an impressive final round finishin’ with the lowest round of the day with 7-under 65 going from 7-over to even par. This moved him up 37 spots on the leaderboard and won him his first top-25 finish at the PGA Championship.

John Daly — Didn’t think we’d talk about him, did you? Our favorite whiskey-fueled golfer managed to gain notice when he pulled it together  with four birdies on the last seven holes finishin’ with his best major (T-18) since a T-27 at the 2009 British Open. All the Rockheads here love you John, please stick around!

Tiger Woods — Oh, Tiger. He was a bigger disappointment than the dinosaur-killin’ asteroid. This is the fourth consecutive major in which Woods has not been able to have an under par record on the weekend. When asked about it after, Tiger didn’t blame his swing or his short game but his mindset. Instead of feeling the pressure, he tried to enjoy playin’. “It was a bad move on my part,” Woods said.

Hunter Mahan — Mahan failed not only to knock Mickelson out of the last automatic Ryder Cup team spot but he didn’t even make the cut.

Lee Westwood — He missed the cut with a 75 in Round 1 and 77 in Round 2.

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