Salon.com > Noah Trister

McIlroy back at top with record-setting win at PGA

Mon, 13 Aug 2012 07:49:35 +0000

KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. (AP) — Rory McIlroy hit off wood chips and out of sand. He even stuck one shot in a tree branch — and went on to make par like it was no big deal.

By the time the PGA Championship was over, he was in a class by himself.

"On 18, I was just taking the whole thing in," McIlroy said. "I allowed myself the luxury of walking up 18 knowing that I was going to win. I enjoyed the moment, just let it all sink in."

Another major championship masterpiece for the 23-year-old from Northern Ireland with seemingly unlimited potential.

From the start of the weekend, McIlroy looked like the man to beat at Kiawah Island, and nobody came close. He won Sunday by a record eight strokes, with a flair and charisma that could turn him into golf's next star.

Remember all that talk about how no lead is safe in 2012? McIlroy was in front the entire final round.

"I set myself a target," he said. "I said, 'Look, if I get to 12 under par, nobody is going to catch me.'"

He was at 12 under when he walked toward the 18th green with a seven-shot lead, but a par there would have been anticlimactic. Instead, McIlroy rolled in a 25-foot birdie — and in the process surpassed the PGA Championship record for margin of victory that Jack Nicklaus set in 1980.

McIlroy up by 6 in final round of PGA Championship

Sun, 12 Aug 2012 21:40:40 +0000

KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. (AP) — In a year when no lead seems safe, Rory McIlroy might have built an insurmountable one in the season's last major.

McIlroy led the PGA Championship by six strokes with six holes to play Sunday after his putt on No. 12 caught the right edge of the cup and dropped in for a birdie. Ian Poulter applied some early pressure with a relentless start, making birdies on the first five holes and eight of the first 12. But McIlroy remained steady after beginning the round with a three-shot lead.

McIlroy was 11-under par with six holes remaining. Poulter reached 8 under after a birdie on No. 12, but he bogeyed the next three holes to fall back.

Carl Pettersson also was at 5 under. He could have been in better shape, but he double bogeyed the first hole after a loose impediment in a hazard moved in his backswing — a two-stroke penalty. Pettersson birdied four of five holes later in the front nine.

Tiger Woods was 3 under through 13 holes and stood little chance of winning his first major championship since 2008.

McIlroy, the 2011 U.S. Open champion, was trying to end an odd streak in which 16 straight majors have been won by 16 players. He also was trying to become the first 54-hole leader to win a major this year.

Play resumes at PGA with long day ahead

Sun, 12 Aug 2012 12:23:15 +0000

KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. (AP) — Tiger Woods missed a 7-foot par putt on the eighth hole and fell another shot behind the leaders Sunday when play resumed at the PGA Championship.

Woods dropped to even par for the tournament, six strokes behind Rory McIlroy and Vijay Singh, who are tied atop the leaderboard in the third round. Play was suspended Saturday because of storms in the area, giving Woods all night to contemplate the crucial putt he'd face in the morning.

When he finally hit it, the ball rolled off the edge of the cup.

Adam Scott trails McIlroy and Singh by a stroke at Kiawah Island. Carl Pettersson is another shot back at four-under.

Woods shares lead at PGA Championship

Sat, 11 Aug 2012 08:26:49 +0000

KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. (AP) — One chip rolled all the way to the edge of the hole and stopped. A couple putts fell in after 360-degree journeys around the lip of the cup.

With the wind gusting and scores skyrocketing, Tiger Woods moved methodically to the top of the leaderboard Friday at the PGA Championship, setting himself up for a weekend run at his first major title since 2008. He did it with his short game, chipping and putting his way to a 1-under 71 in the second round.

"I don't know what the forecast is," Woods said. "If it's anything like this over the weekend, with no rain, it's going to be tough. It's going to be tough to get the ball close to these holes."

On the toughest scoring day in PGA Championship history, Woods ended up sharing the lead with Vijay Singh and Carl Pettersson. They were at 4-under 140. Woods and Singh will play in the final twosome Saturday.

Singh, a three-time major champion who hasn't won in nearly four years, scratched out five birdies in a remarkable round of 3-under 69. Only three other players managed to break par in the second round — Woods, Phil Mickelson and Ian Poulter shot 71.

Woods one-putted 23 greens in the first two rounds.

Favorable conditions at PGA _ but for how long?

Fri, 10 Aug 2012 07:47:03 +0000

KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. (AP) — Tiger Woods made three bogeys and still shot 69. Rory McIlroy was even better, breezing through the first round with barely a misstep.

At one point, a 26-year-old from the Netherlands named Joost Luiten looked poised to challenge the major championship scoring record of 63. That didn't happen, but on the first day of the PGA Championship, the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island was in a forgiving mood.

"It's a little bit softer so that makes the fairways wider, and the wind really hasn't blown, and the greens are still a little bit soft," first-round leader Carl Pettersson said. "Under the right conditions, if it got really firm and fast and you had the wind, it would be very difficult. I think we've seen it about as easy as it can get today this morning."

Pettersson shot a 6-under 66 to take a one-shot lead, but he was just one of several players who took advantage of the favorable terrain on a steamy day. McIlroy was one of four players at 5 under, and even John Daly worked his way into the mix, part of a big group at 68.

In all, there were 44 rounds under par, the most in the opening round since there were 60 at Medinah in 2006.

Late par 3 could prove pivotal at PGA Championship

Thu, 09 Aug 2012 07:30:14 +0000

KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. (AP) — The long, narrow green looks a lot smaller from back at the tee box, especially with about 200 yards of water in between.

On Sunday, when the PGA Championship is wrapping up, the final, crucial test could take place right there at No. 17.

On a 223-yard par 3 next to the shore of the Atlantic, golf's top players will test their precision and their nerve, trying to withstand perhaps the most challenging spot on Kiawah Island's Ocean Course.

"Depends on where the flag is, depends on where the tee box is situated, and depends on where the wind is coming from," said Ernie Els, listing just a few of the variables. "(Tuesday) evening I played it and I had to hit a 3-iron in there, and that's a difficult hole."

At 7,676 yards, the Ocean Course will be the longest in major championship history if officials decide to play it all the way back. The 17th hole has a number of tee boxes, including at least one that requires a diagonal carry over water to the green — from a tough angle if the pin is in the middle.

A miss short or to the right could end up in the water, and there are two bunkers to the left that create small ridges at the edge of the green. From the tee, players should be able to hear the waves from the ocean rolling ashore, but even that might not be enough to calm anyone down.

Cabrera’s HR caps 5-run rally in 10th for Tigers

Sun, 05 Aug 2012 22:48:58 +0000

DETROIT (AP) — Miguel Cabrera's towering fly ball was headed toward left-center field — and at first, the Detroit slugger couldn't tell if it would clear the fence.

When it did, the Tigers celebrated perhaps the most spectacular comeback of the 2012 baseball season.

Cabrera hit a two-run homer to cap a stunning five-run rally by Detroit with two outs in the bottom of the 10th inning, giving the Tigers a 10-8 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Sunday. Cleveland has lost nine straight, and this one slipped away in unthinkable fashion.

With two outs and nobody on — and the Indians up 8-5 — Chris Perez (0-3) walked Alex Avila and pinch-hitter Andy Dirks. Austin Jackson doubled home a run, and Omar Infante's two-run single tied it.

Cabrera followed with his 27th homer, which finally came down beyond the fence in left-center.

"It was a little scary," Cabrera said. "It was high. I was not sure if I hit it out. I'm glad."

It's the first time all season a team has trailed by at least three runs with two outs and nobody on in its last at-bat and come back to win in that inning, according to STATS, LLC. The last time it happened was Sept. 27, when Arizona scored six runs in a similar situation to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-6.

A team-by-team look at famous in-season deals

Tue, 31 Jul 2012 08:02:46 +0000

Zack Greinke and Hanley Ramirez have already changed teams, and general managers still have a few more hours to make additional big trades. Some of the deals from the 2012 season may quickly be forgotten, but there's always the possibility of a blockbuster that can change the fortunes of a team for years. In honor of baseball's Tuesday trade deadline, here are some of the most famous (and infamous) in-season deals in baseball history — one for each of the 30 franchises.

___

ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS

July 2000: Acquired Curt Schilling from Phillies for Omar Daal, Nelson Figueroa, Travis Lee and Vicente Padilla.

Schilling was 33 at the time but had plenty left. He went 45-13 in 2001 and 2002, leading the Diamondbacks to a dramatic World Series title in '01 and finishing second in the Cy Young vote both years to teammate Randy Johnson.

___

ATLANTA BRAVES

July 1993: Acquired Fred McGriff from Padres for Donnie Elliott, Vince Moore and Melvin Nieves.

When the Braves traded for McGriff, the press box at old Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium literally caught fire the day he joined the team. The Braves followed suit, going 49-16 down the stretch to edge the Giants in the last great division race of the pre-wild card era.