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Rory McIlroy makes Masters statement with Arnold Palmer Invitational win

By Brandon Raper

ORLANDO, FL - MARCH 18: Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland holds the trophy after his two shot victory during the final round at the Arnold Palmer Invitational Presented By MasterCard at Bay Hill Club and Lodge on March 18, 2018 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)
ORLANDO, FL - MARCH 18: Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland holds the trophy after his two shot victory during the final round at the Arnold Palmer Invitational Presented By MasterCard at Bay Hill Club and Lodge on March 18, 2018 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images) /
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Rory McIlroy cruised to victory on Sunday at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. After months of struggles, is he ready to make a charge at the Masters?

Rory McIlroy is still here, people. Just in case you had forgotten among the last year or so of outstanding golf that – surprisingly – never really involved him. On Sunday at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, McIlroy sent a loud and clear message to the rest of the world.

In case you thought he was gone, think again. Birdies galore, fist pumps and shouts of triumph punctuated a fantastic week at Bay Hill as the Ulsterman paid tribute to the King himself.

A quick glance at the final leaderboard tells the story as well as anything. Henrik Stenson, Bryson DeChambeau, Justin Rose, and Tiger Woods – all fell behind as McIlroy ravaged the back nine at Arnold Palmer’s Orlando resort.

No, it wasn’t a major championship, but all the pieces were there. With big names in control, and a resurgent Woods on the prowl, McIlroy put together what even he described as “almost a perfect round of golf” to take home his first title since the 2016 TOUR Championship.

McIlroy has played his entire career with the stigma of being the “next Tiger”. He’s fought that for years, but you’d have to be blind to miss the parallels down the stretch Sunday.

Tiger doesn’t exactly have the market cornered on fist-pumps, but you haven’t seen that kind of energy, the raw release of victory, out of Rory in quite a while.

"“I’ve seen Tiger make that enough times to know what it does,” McIlroy said. “So I just wanted to try and emulate that. Didn’t quite give it the hat toss – I was thinking about doing it. But just to be able to create my own little bit of history on the 18th green here is pretty special.”"

McIlroy paid tribute to Mr. Palmer with his play, and his words

As McIlroy had the winner’s red cardigan – a trademark staple of Mr. Palmer’s wardrobe – draped over his shoulders, you could see that he understood the importance of what he had just done.

The two had been connected for years, but McIlroy hadn’t made the trip to Bay Hill until 2015. Palmer had joked earlier, in 2012, that if young McIlroy didn’t come play his event soon, he’d have bigger problems.

Rory McIlroy Arnold Palmer Invitational
(Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images) /

“I’m going to tell you something,” Palmer proclaimed. “If he doesn’t come and play Bay Hill, he might have a broken arm and he won’t have to worry about where he’s going to play next.”

Perhaps that was warning enough. More likely, McIlroy’s respect for Palmer and what he meant to the game brought him to Orlando. It took until 2015, but McIlroy made the trip, and as ESPN’s Jason Sobel writes, the conversation the two shared over dinner sticks with Rory to this day.

“I was just mesmerized for that two hours that I spent with him,” McIlroy said. “So much time for everyone and I was very fortunate to spend that time with him.”

"“I wish he would have been at the top of the hill to shake my hand when I came off the 18th green there,” he said, “but hopefully he’s proud of me with the way I played that back nine. I tried to be as aggressive as I could and tried to take on shots when I needed to, just like he would have. So yeah, it’s sort of come full circle since that day.”"

Can Rory McIlroy finally claim the career Grand Slam this year at Augusta?

It’s safe to assume that the King was looking down on Sunday’s events quite happily. McIlroy’s victory was one for the record books, leading the field in strokes gained putting, driving distance, proximity to the hole, and scrambling.

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Long story short: there wasn’t a single major flaw in McIlroy’s game, a trait he’ll look to carry into Augusta National.

There, in just three weeks, McIlroy will have a chance to do something even the King himself never did.

Complete the career Grand Slam. He’s had three cracks at the green jacket since claiming the third leg of the Slam at the 2014 Open Championship. Each time, he’s been inside the top ten. Close, but not quite close enough.

This year, perhaps, it will be different. Then again, perhaps it won’t be. As McIlroy noted this week, golf can be a fickle thing. You’re never that far, he insisted, from playing legendary golf. Then again, you’re not far from mediocre golf, either.

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McIlroy has always been a strong contender at the year’s first major. You have to believe that it’s just a matter of time until he takes his place in that champions-only locker room.

Perhaps this year is that time, when he can pay one more tribute to Arnie, as he exchanges the red cardigan for that prized green jacket.

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