Rory McIlroy continues dominant form with victory at 2019 WGC-HSBC Champions
Rory McIlroy is starting the new PGA TOUR season the same way he finished the last one, coming through for the victory at the 2019 WGC-HSBC Champions.
Rory McIroy is a man on a mission: a mission to get back to the top spot in the world, and prove that he’s still one of the best, if not the undisputed leader, in golf today. And he took a big step in that direction by closing out the 2019 WGC-HSBC Champions in China on Sunday for yet another elite-field title.
It didn’t wind up being much of a victory march for the 30-year-old superstar, as McIlroy’s 4-under round of 68 – following three straight days of 67 – brought him to 19-under in regulation play. He watched a two-shot cushion disappear in the final four holes, as Xander Schauffele birdied Nos. 15 and 18 to force a playoff.
In this case, though, McIlroy believes it’s his experience that allowed him the advantage in extra holes. He pulled the honors for the first sudden-death hole, and knew he had an opportunity to put pressure on the younger Schauffele, who already has four PGA TOUR titles, and was the defending champion coming into this week at Sheshan International.
“I knew that was the big moment because I could hit a drive down the fairway and put the pressure on him,” McIlroy said.
That’s precisely what happened, and it allowed him to make a comfortable two-putt birdie. When Schauffele’s 25-footer to tie came up shy, McIlroy found himself hoisting his fourth trophy in the calendar year.
Rory McIlroy is also off to the races in early efforts to defend the FedEx Cup championship he won just a handful of weeks ago. He temporarily took over the lead with his win at the WGC-HSBC Champions, ceding it Sunday afternoon in the States to Lanto Griffin, who earned 27 points in a T-18 effort at the Bermuda Championship.
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With 713 points in just two starts (McIlroy earned 163 for his T-3 finish at the ZOZO Championship, won by Tiger Woods), Rory has matched the entire season total of last year’s 70th-place FedEx Cup finisher, Rafa Cabrera Bello. And we haven’t even gotten to Thanksgiving yet. I’m convinced that the way Rory is playing right now, he could go out tomorrow and win anywhere in the world.
While there’s certainly a lot to be said for the idea that external forces – Brooks Koepka’s rivalry comments, Tiger’s resurgence, etc. – might be motivating McIlroy to bring his game back to its top form, what stuck out to me is the idea that Rory McIlroy seems to be battling hardest against. himself. When he said after his round that he “doesn’t have as much time left as he used to”, that should have been a wake-up call to the rest of the Tour’s upper echelon.
The guy is 30 years old. He’s only one year older than Koepka, and 13 younger than Woods. Dustin Johnson is 35. Justin Rose is 39. All are within the top 10 of the Official World Golf Ranking, and that’s not even counting guys just outside like Webb Simpson, Paul Casey, Adam Scott, Gary Woodland…well, you get the idea. If McIlroy thinks his clock is ticking already, well, that’s a scary proposition for the decade yet to come.
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Right now, the clock that I imagine is ticking loudest in his head is the countdown to the Masters, the only remaining major that Rory McIlroy has yet to win in his Hall of Fame career. The man is on a mission, and every milestone left on his list is just waiting to be checked off, sooner rather than later.