KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. — Sunday at Kiawah Island's Ocean Course didn't have the feeling of the coronation at the U.S. Open or the Honda Classic win that sent Rory McIlroy to the top spot in the world for the first time in his career.
No, the final round of the PGA Championship felt different. Despite the fact that he won by a record eight shots -- eclipsing Jack Nicklaus' seven-shot win at the PGA in 1980 -- there was no pomp and circumstance as the 23-year-old demolished the field with a clinical 6-under 66 round to win his second major championship in the last two years, becoming the youngest player in golf history to win two majors.
If anything, McIlroy's second major win felt normal, even expected. Ever since he burst onto the scene as a baby-faced 17-year-old at the Masters and took home low amateur honors, people have been expecting greatness from the kid with the curly hair and boyish good looks.
He lived up to the expectations with his historic eight-shot win at the 2011 U.S. Open, but like all great players, he was always expected to get better -- to raise his game to another level like other greats before him. One happened to be in the field this week at the PGA Championship wearing a red shirt just like the one McIlroy was sporting when he strode to the first tee for the final round.
Like the other guy in red, McIlroy put on a major championship clinic during the final round, the kind we used to see from Tiger Woods during the prime of his career. From his opening tee shot on the first hole at 1:45 p.m., McIlroy never flinched, firing at pins and pouring in putts the entire day.
And when Ian Poulter opened with six birdies in his first seven holes, McIlroy countered like a prize fighter, posting three birdies in his first nine holes to maintain his three-shot lead before landing a huge body blow with an up-and-down from the sand on the 10th hole to maintain his three-shot lead.
Then came the knockout punch, as McIlroy added three more birdies on the back nine, stretching the lead to eight before it was all said and done. And Poulter? He was a McIlroy casualty -- just like everyone else in the field who seemed to fade as the he put his foot on his the throat of his competition and shattered there dreams with a round that made you believe the kid from Northern Ireland isn't a one-hit wonder.
No, we're looking at the best golfer in the world. Rory McIlroy, who moved to the top spot in the Official World Golf Ranking with his win, went from king-in-waiting to the new king of golf.
The PGA Championship may be known as "Glory's Last Shot," but for Rory McIlroy, Sunday at the PGA Championship was just the beginning of what looks to be a historic career.
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