KIAWAH ISLAND, SC - AUGUST 12: Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland holds up the Wanamaker Trophy after winning the 94th PGA Championship at the Ocean Course on August 12, 2012 in Kiawah Island, South Carolina. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)
21 Total Updates since August 12, 2012
9 months ago Article 0 comments
A loose leaf costs Carl Petterrsson two strokes -- and about half a million bucks. Plus, Lee Westwood hands out pink slips and Rory McIlroy wears red.
9 months ago Article 0 comments
Tiger Woods goes all Matt Kuchar at the PGA Championship and it costs him.
9 months ago Article 0 comments
Tiger Woods will always be one of the greatest ever to play the game. But has the torch been passed to young Rory?
9 months ago Article 0 comments
One of Rory McIlroy's biggest boosters, Padraig Harrington believes the newly crowned PGA champ will be the one to break Jack Nicklaus' major championship record.
9 months ago Update 1 comment
If it's any consolation to Tiger Woods, he's still in first place in the 2012 Fedex Cup standings. It's probably not, but it's something.
With three Tour wins earlier in the season, Tiger has banked a substantial lead in the point chase. After finishing in a tie for 11th place at the PGA, he now has 2,609 points. He's 177 points ahead of second-place Rory McIlroy, whose win jumped him six spots this week.
Here's how the standings look now that all four majors are in the books:
1. Tiger Woods: 2,269
2. Rory McIlroy: 2,092
3. Jason Dufner: 2,025
4. Zach Johnson: 2,019
5. Bubba Watson: 1,777
6. Hunter Mahan: 1,739
7. Keegan Bradley: 1,670
8. Matt Kuchar: 1,600
9. Carl Pettersson: 1,576
10. Steve Stricker: 1,456
9 months ago Update 0 comments
Rory McIlroy cruised to an easy win at the 2012 PGA Championship, lapping the field and finishing at 13-under for the tournament. With the win, McIlroy earned a seven-figure payday, nearly doubling up the prize money for second place. Everyone in the top-18 earned six-figures, but the real winner was McIlroy, both in an earnings sense and a literal one.
After a solid first two days, Noted Golf Enthusiast Tiger Woods finished well off the pace, ending his tournament at 2-under. He struggled throughout the weekend, finishing in a tie for 11th place with a whole host of people, 11 shots off the pace.
Here's what the prize money breakdown looks like for the top-10. As a reminder, prize money for ties is determined by pooling the money, then splitting it equal ways amongst the competitors.
First place: Rory McIlroy, $1,445,000
Second place: David Lynn, $865,000
Tie for third: Carl Pettersson $384,500
Tie for third: Justin Rose $384,500
Tie for third: Keegan Bradley $384,500
Tie for third: Ian Poulter $384,500
Tie for seventh: Blake Adams $226,000
Tie for seventh: Jamie Donaldson $226,000
Tie for seventh: Peter Hanson $226,000
Tie for seventh: Steve Stricker $226,000
A breakdown of the rest of the purse -- without ties -- can be found here.
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9 months ago Update 0 comments
Rory McIlroy blew away the rest of the field on Sunday afternoon, winning the 2012 PGA Championship with one of the more impressive major performances in some time. The Northern Ireland native ended up beating the rest of the field by eight strokes, earning his second major victory -- and the honor of being the world's top-ranked golfer -- at the young age of 23.
McIlroy finished 13-under on Sunday while making his way around the course at Kiawah Island Resort. He made six birdies en route to breaking a 1980 Jack Nicklaus record of finishing seven strokes ahead of his closest competition over the course of the four-day tournament. It's interesting, by the way, that McIlroy finished with the same margin of victory in his other major victory at the 2011 US Open.
The young golfer entered Sunday's final round as an "overwhelming favorite" with Tiger Woods his closest competition according to the oddsmakers, but Woods was no competition for McIlroy as Sunday wore on considering Woods finished just two-under compared to McIlroy's 13-under.
David Lynn finished in second place at five under par while four golfers -- including Keegan Bradley and Justin Rose -- finished in a third-place tie.
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9 months ago Update 0 comments
The 2012 PGA Championship has just two holes left and, provided there's not some sort of monumentally-epic collapse, Rory McIlroy will be the winner. Despite shooting a 75 on Friday, the Northern Ireland native finished the 16th hole with another birdie to extend himself a seven-stroke advantage over the rest of the leaderboard.
If McIlroy is able to stay seven strokes ahead of Englishman David Lynn, the golfer currently in second place as he headed to the clubhouse at five-under par, he'll tie Jack Nicklaus for the largest margin of victory in the history of the PGA Championship.
Behind McIlroy and Lynn, there's a four-way tie for third place that includes Justin Rose, Keegan Bradley and Ian Poulter -- all of which are done golfing for the tournament -- as well as Carl Pettersson, who has three holes remaining on the day.
For a live leaderboard, visit Golf.com.
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9 months ago Update 0 comments
Rory McIlroy isn't doing his part in keeping Sunday afternoon's final round at the 2012 PGA Championship exciting, as he continues to blow the rest of the competition out of the water. McIlroy tied for third place in 2009 and 2010 in the same tournament, but looks destined for a first place finish in this year's event.
McIlroy parred the 13th and 14th holes on Sunday to stay at 11-under through the four rounds of the tournament. He's yet to finish a hole during the final round with anything but either a birdie or a par, steering clear from any bogeys with just four holes left in the tournament.
Ian Poulter and Carl Pettersson continue to sit in second place at five-under, while two of the three golfers tied for fourth place -- including Justin Rose and Keegan Bradley -- have already entered the clubhouse while finishing four under par.
For what it's worth, Tiger Woods is currently in seventh place at three-under with three holes remaining.
For a live leaderboard, visit Golf.com.
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9 months ago Update 0 comments
Rory McIlroy entered Sunday's final round at the 2012 PGA Championship with a three-stroke advantage over everyone else listed on the leaderboard. Twelve holes later, he's increased that lead to an impressive six strokes over his closest competition at Kiawah Island Resort.
McIlroy posted his fourth birdie of the day on 12, a 412-yard par-four, to increase his lead over the rest of the pack. At this point it looks like nobody will be able to catch him, though there is a rather large pack still in contention for second place.
Ian Poulter and Carl Pettersson are both five-under with three and six holes to go, respectively, while Keegan Bradley, Bo Van Pelt and Justin Rose make up part of a six-golfer contingency currently tied for fourth place.
For a live leaderboard, visit Golf.com.
For news and updates throughout the week at the PGA Championship, stay tuned to this StoryStream. For all your golf news as the playoffs approach, visit SB Nation's golf hub.
9 months ago Update 0 comments
Edit: Rory McIlroy wins: Breakdown of the prize money.
With an $8 million purse, the PGA Championship is one of the richest golf tournaments of the 2012 season, ranking up there with the other three majors. The winner of the PGA Championship will become an instant millionaire, taking home just over $1.44 million as well as a nifty trophy. Not bad for less than a week's worth of work.
The rest of the field will also be vying for significant money. Each of the players in the top 5 will pocket over $320,000 and 18 spots are worth six figures.
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Here is the partial breakdown of the prize money. A full list can be found here.
First place: $1,445,000
Second place: $865,000
Third place: $545,000
Fourth place: $385,000
Fifth place: $320,000
Sixth place: $288,000
Seventh place: $259,000
Eighth place: $235,000
Ninth place: $214,000
10th place: $196,000
11th place: $180,000
12th place: $165,500
13th place: $152,000
14th place: $140,000
15th place: $130,500
16th place: $121,500
17th place: $113,500
18th place: $106,500
19th place: $99,500
20th place: $93,000
In the event of a tie -- and there's always ties -- the prize money is pooled and dispersed. For example, if there's a four-way tie for second, the second-, third-, fourth- and fifth-place prizes are combined, then divided by four. Each player then takes home their share of that money.
We'll be back with a breakdown of what each player won as soon as the tournament concludes.
For news and updates throughout the week at the PGA Championship, stay tuned to this StoryStream. For all your golf news as the playoffs approach, visit SB Nation's golf hub.
9 months ago Update 0 comments
Rory McIlroy continues to hold a multi-shot cushion at the 2012 PGA Championship at Kiawah Island. McIlroy picked up birdies when he had to, posting red numbers at the gettable second and third holes. The lead was then extended on one of the later birdie holes on the front side, the par-5 7th. McIlroy put his second shot on the green and lagged a beautiful eagle putt to within a foot, setting up the tap-in birdie. With a four-shot lead, the young superstar is generally playing things safe -- simply putting approaches on the greens and not taking aggressive aim at the sticks.
The one early challenger to McIlroy was Englishman Ian Poulter. He started his round red hot, with birdies on six of his first seven holes. But the putter went awry on the seventh when he aggressively hammered a five-footer and missed the cup completely on the low side. The bogey dropped him to 6-under for the championship.
Tiger Woods played a bogey-free front nine but, unfortunately, he made only two birdies -- both coming on the par-5s. Those birdies moved him to 4-under, a full six shots back of McIlroy. The inward nine is typically much more difficult to pick up shots, so he'll need to go nuts with the putter and hope the players ahead of him start dropping shots. It's looking like a near-certainty that his majors winless streak will persist, with Saturday afternoon's sluggish play providing the crucial turning point and opening for McIlroy to take complete control.
After a strong start to the Tour season, which included at win at the Honda and an ascension to No. 1 in the world, McIlroy hit perhaps the roughest stretch of his career. He repeatedly missed cuts through the months of May and June, but he's steadily been working his way back from that summer swoon. He looked like he was back to his usual form last week at Firestone, and was one of the favorites this week. With a McIlroy win, Seve Ballesteros and Jack Nicklaus would be the only players younger than McIlroy to hold two majors titles in the modern golf era. Having a four-shot lead with just 10 holes to play, he'll just have to avoid an Adam Scott-esque implosion at this point.
For a live leaderboard, visit Golf.com.
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9 months ago Update 0 comments
There isn't a single bunker on the course -- however many "sandy areas" -- but a golfer still managed to ground his club in a hazard at the Kiawah Island Ocean Course.
Carl Pettersson was playing the first hole of his final round when his tee-shot sailed right and settled in a clearly marked hazard area. During his second swing, Pettersson took his club back and clipped what appeared to be a dead leaf, which is the same as grounding one's club.
Pettersson managed to salvage what he thought was a routine par, having not taken the two-shot penalty on the first hole. Tournament officials quickly took to instant replay to see if a penalty was to be enforced, which ultimately was the case as Pettersson later learned. Thus, what was once a par now quickly became a double-bogey.
Rule 13-4 in the USGA Rules of Golf states that a player may not touch a loose impediment in a hazard on the backswing but may make contact on the downswing. Had Pettersson swept the leaf on his way down to hitting the ball, no penalty would have been enforced.
For news and updates throughout the week at the PGA Championship, stay tuned to this StoryStream. For all your golf news as the playoffs approach, visit SB Nation's golf hub.
9 months ago Update 0 comments
With a win on Sunday at the 2012 PGA Championship, Rory McIlroy will become the third-youngest player in golf's modern era to have two major championships. McIlroy held a three-shot lead over the field at the start of the final round on Sunday afternoon, and the chasers had to hope the sweet-swinging Northern Irishman missed the birdie opportunities on the first four holes at Pete Dye's Ocean Course.
Unfortunately for the field, McIlroy did not oblige, carding red numbers at the second and third holes. The par-5 second was a particularly brilliant birdie "save" after his second shot sailed completely off the grid. He immediately backed that up with a birdie at the short par-4 third to move to 9-under.
Tiger Woods, meanwhile, is six shots back with 13 holes left to play. He now enters a very difficult eight-hole stretch that will also play with a steady left-to-right wind. Woods has insisted on hitting a cut shot, which, combined with the wind direction, could make this stretch particularly difficult to make a run at Rory.
The one big mover on Sunday afternoon is Ian Poulter, who came out of the gate absolutely on fire with his putter. He drained everything on his way to five straight birdies to open the round. After a ho-hum par at the sixth, he added another red number on No. 7 to move to 7-under and two shots back of the leader McIlroy. The two Euros could make this a two-horse race down the stretch.
For a live leaderboard, visit Golf.com.
For news and updates throughout the week at the PGA Championship, stay tuned to this StoryStream. For all your golf news as the playoffs approach, visit SB Nation's golf hub.
9 months ago Update 0 comments
The final groups are now on the course as the Sunday push for the season's final major commences. The first four holes at The Ocean Course are absolutely critical for anyone who hopes to contend at the PGA Championship. After a rough start to his third round on Saturday, Tiger Woods held on for a 2-under back nine in his third round. But he still finished the third round five shots back of leader Rory McIlroy, coming in Sunday morning at 2-under.
This made that final round start all the more critical, even with Woods professing that he would stick to his game plan and not try to get overly aggressive on a particularly penal layout. He began the round with a par on the easier par-4 but took advantage of the par-5 second hole. It's hard to say that a player's chances hinge on just one hole so early on, but if Woods wanted to have any chance coming down the stretch, he had to get a birdie on the easy par-5. It was almost better than birdie, however, as Woods stuck his second shot hole high on the green and burned the edge with his eagle putt.
The third hole provided another birdie opportunity for Woods, but he missed badly on his approach shot from just 99 yards. Wielding a lob wedge, he flew the green and the ball rolled down into a collection area behind the green. With the sticky paspalum grass, getting up-and-down with a small landing area looked like a tall task. After a relatively poor shot to get on, he drained his par-saving putt to stay at 3-under.
Unfortunately for Woods, McIlroy still has the same opportunity to pick up a shot at No. 2. He just missed a birdie on the first hole and he looks to have his putter in good form as he tries to become one of the youngest players in golf history to win two majors.
Another player taking advantage of the easier start at The Ocean Course is Ian Poulter. The Englishman has been a crucial member of the European Ryder Cup team over the past decade, but he's on the outside looking in this year. It's likely he'll be a captain's pick, and his play this week could make that a no-brainer. Poulter has been draining everything to start his final round, carding birdies on the first four holes to move into sole possession of second place at 5-under.
For a live leaderboard, visit Golf.com.
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9 months ago Update 0 comments
The Sunday final round is under way at Kiawah Island, with the PGA of America utilizing split tees in the hopes of wrapping up a long day of golf and hand out the Wanamaker Trophy around 7 p.m. ET.
Sunday afternoon should provide favorable scoring conditions at The Ocean Course, which has dramatic swings in degree of difficulty depending on the weather and the wind. The wind is relatively down and the greens should be soft and receptive after Mother Nature dumped another rainstorm on Kiawah Saturday afternoon.
With the final tee times finishing up their prep on the range, the players already out on the course are taking advantage of those scoring conditions. Pete Dye lets you ease into the colossus that is The Ocean Course with a couple good birdie opportunities at the start. Euros Miguel Angel Jimenez and Justin Rose are two players who have taken advantage early on, with both playing the first three holes in 3-under to move into the red for the championship. The Mechanic made his early push by sinking his second shot at the par-4 third for an eagle, which backed up his birdie on the par-5 second hole. Rose, who lit it up early on Saturday, carded birdies on the first three holes to move to 1-under.
Phil Mickelson is one player who was unable to take advantage of the birdie chances at the beginning. He started his final round with a costly bogey at the first. He quickly got it back on track with a must-make birdie on the par-5, but he's still eight shots back of leader Rory McIlroy with only 15 holes left to gain ground.
For a live leaderboard, visit Golf.com.
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9 months ago Update 0 comments
At the midpoint of the 2012 PGA Championship, Tiger Woods held a share of the lead at 4-under and was considered a heavy 1/1 favorite to win his 15th career major. But in a trend we've seen with Woods at all the majors this summer, the favorite struggled mightily on Saturday, dropping shots, coming back to the field, and relinquishing the lead. If Woods fails to win on Sunday, an outward 40 on his third-round front nine will be the one stretch that he can look back on with regret.
Of course, that nine-hole stretch covered two days, as Saturday's play was interrupted by a nasty storm along the Carolina coast. While Woods made up some ground, coming in with a 34, he was still frustrated with his third-round 2-over 74. Woods has been inconsistent with his putter all summer, but he had been hot with the flatstick on the weekend at Firestone and again through the first two rounds at Kiawah. But he came out on Saturday and struggled right off the bat with his putter, and that persisted as he finished up his third round on Sunday morning. He also cited frustration with unusually slow greens on Sunday morning. Via Helen Ross of PGATour.com:
"I had a few good looks at it today, and I just couldn't believe how slow these greens were this morning," Woods said. "I don't know if they cut them or not, but they were just a lot slower. They're slower than the putting green. Vijay (Singh) and I were talking about that a little bit today, and it was surprising that they're not the same speed. We both struggled getting the balls to the hole."
A combination of the slower, stickier paspalum surface and the heavy rains on the island all week have certainly made the greens slower than Tour pros are accustomed to playing in the States. They were reportedly rolling around 11 on the stimpmeter early in the week, but Woods seems particularly irked at the difference between the practice surface and the greens out on the course.
Despite the putting inconsistencies, Woods still salvaged his chances with that 34 on the back side. He indicated that he played his way "back" into the tournament, even with a bogey on the difficult par-3 17th. Tiger is still five shots back of leader Rory McIlroy, but it doesn't sound like he'll get particularly aggressive during his final round to try and make a run at the young Northern Irishman, via PGATour.com:
"You know, just give myself chances, give myself looks," Woods said when asked about his strategy for the final round. "This golf course you can take a double and a triple in a heartbeat without hitting bad shots.
"Just keep myself there where I'm right in it with a few holes to go because, as we saw at the last major championship we played, anything can happen."
Woods was criticized for his conservative "game plan" at Lytham, a phrase he used repeatedly in speaking with the media after each round. But that approach kept him in it throughout and nearly paid off with Adam Scott's collapse.
He'll start his final round paired with Vijay Singh again, going off at 1:23 p.m. ET.
You can check out the full list of tee times at PGA.com. For a live leaderboard, visit Golf.com.
For news and updates throughout the week at the PGA Championship, stay tuned to this StoryStream. For all your golf news as the playoffs approach, visit SB Nation's golf hub.
9 months ago Update 0 comments
Rory McIlroy holds a three-stroke lead over Carl Pettersson entering the final round Sunday at the 2012 PGA Championship. It's no surprise, then, that he is the overwhelming favorite to win the whole tournament. McIlroy was given 4/7 odds by Bovada with the round set to begin just before noon on the East coast.
Tiger Woods has a lot of ground to make up at five shots off the lead, but bettors are still relatively confident that he can challenge McIlory before the end of the day. He was given 6/1 odds, compared to 10/1 for Pettersson.
Here's a look at the favorites to win the 2012 PGA Championship:
Rory McIlroy - 4/7
Tiger Woods - 6/1
Carl Pettersson - 10/1
Adam Scott - 12/1
Bo Van Pelt - 16/1
Steve Stricker -25/1
Trevor Immelman - 25/1
Graeme McDowell - 33/1
Vijay Singh - 33/1
Peter Hanson - 40/1
You can check out the full list of tee times at PGA.com. For a live leaderboard, visit Golf.com.
For news and updates throughout the week at the PGA Championship, stay tuned to this StoryStream. For all your golf news as the playoffs approach, visit SB Nation's golf hub.
9 months ago Update 0 comments
The third round of the 2012 PGA Championship wrapped up Sunday morning after inclement weather suspended play at Ocean Course on Kiawah Island in South Carolina. Rory McIlroy is alone atop the leaderboard at 7-under overall after shooting 5-under in the third round. Carl Pettersson is in second place, but three shots back at 4-under overall. Tiger Woods shot plus-4 on the front nine alone, and is currently five shots off the lead in a four-way tie for sixth.
The first golfers will tee off for the final round at 11:44 a.m. ET. The leaders will start later.
Here are the key tee times for the final round Sunday.
1:01 p.m.: Graeme McDowell, Jamie Donaldson, Ian Poulter
1:12 p.m.: Jimmy Walker, David Lynn, Padraig Harrington
1:23 p.m.: Peter Hanson, Vijay Singh, Tiger Woods
1:34 p.m.: Trevor Immelman, Adam Scott, Steve Stricker
1:45 p.m.: Rory McIlroy, Carl Pettersson, Bo Van Pelt
You can check out the full list of tee times at PGA.com. For a live leaderboard, visit Golf.com.
For news and updates throughout the week at the PGA Championship, stay tuned to this StoryStream. For all your golf news as the playoffs approach, visit SB Nation's golf hub.
9 months ago Update 0 comments
The third round of the 2012 PGA Championship was suspended Saturday due to inclement weather and with plenty of players still needing to complete their third rounds, it will be a busy Sunday on Kiawah Island.
Rory McIlroy and Vijay Singh are currently tied for the lead at 6-under with both players still on the course in the third round. McIlroy will have nine holes to play in his third round Sunday while Singh will have 11 holes to finish. Adam Scott is also through nine holes and he sits just one stroke behind the leaders at 5-under.
After beginning the third round tied for the lead, Tiger Woods will resume play Sunday five strokes behind the leaders. Woods struggled Saturday, going 3-over through seven holes. Bo Van Pelt is the leader in the clubhouse, so to speak, as his 3-under is the lowest score of any player who has completed three rounds.
Television coverage will begin Sunday at 8 a.m. ET. TNT will broadcast the first five hours from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. ET. Coverage will then shift to CBS for the final five hours from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. ET.
For news and updates throughout the week at the PGA Championship, stay tuned to this StoryStream. For all your golf news as the playoffs approach, visit SB Nation's golf hub.
9 months ago Update 0 comments
The PGA Championship has been delayed by inclement weather, forcing the players in Saturday's final groups into a very long day on Sunday. Tiger Woods and Vijay Singh, the third round's final pairing, got through just seven holes before a thunderstorm cancelled play. They'll get back out on the course at 7:45 a.m. ET -- weather permitting -- and will finish up their round. The fourth round is expected to begin at 11:30 a.m. ET.
Singh and Rory McIlroy, who also still has to finish his second round, are tied for the lead at 6-under par. Woods had a very tough start to his day on Saturday and is now 1-under for the tournament after going 3-over for his first seven holes. The players will play in threesomes and on split tees to ensure that the round can finish on time.
The fourth round (and probably part of the third round) of the PGA Championship airs Sunday from 8 a.m. - 2 p.m. on TNT, then will switch over to CBS for coverage from 2 p.m. until the end of the day. All times are Eastern.
For news and updates throughout the week at the PGA Championship, stay tuned to this StoryStream. For all your golf news as the playoffs approach, visit SB Nation's golf hub.
9 months ago Article 0 comments
Co-leader Rory McIlroy likes his position heading into Sunday's twin bill at Kiawah Island. Tiger Woods -- who seems to turn into an everyday hacker on the weekends of majors these days -- not so much.
For news and updates throughout the week at the PGA Championship, stay tuned to this StoryStream. For all your golf news as the playoffs approach, visit SB Nation's golf hub.