Quad Questions With Rory McIlroy
Discussing the unforgettable finish to the 2014 PGA Championship at Valhalla, how his game has evolved since, and why he now prefers firm and fast golf courses.
Rory McIlroy’s 2014 PGA Championship win will always be remembered for Sunday’s zany, this-is-what-the-city-championship-does-when-storm-clouds-turn-pitch-black. A warm and wet August week at Valhalla Golf Club ended under dark skies with the 25-year-old reigning Champion Golfer of the Year playing up the 18th fairway just steps behind Phil Mickelson and Rickie Fowler. It was a scene unlike any other in modern major championship history.
McIlroy sought his second PGA Championship title and third win in-a-row after July’s Open at Hoylake and a WGC title before he arrived in Louisville. The overwhelming pre-tournament favorite started his final round with a one-stroke lead over Bernd Wiesberger. By the turn he was three back of Fowler, the same rival he held off the previous month at Hoylake.
Fowler was feeding off a friendly pairing in the group ahead with an equally persistent Mickelson in search of his second PGA title. But a McIlroy eagle at the par 5 10th followed by birdies at 13 and from 17’s fairway bunker set up the wild 18th hole scene where questions remain about whether the PGA should have been playing at all with lightning in the area.
McIlroy pushed to tee off in hopes of preventing a Monday morning return. Cameras followed a PGA official negotiating with Mickelson and caddie Jim Mackay to let McIlroy and Weisberger tee off. The body language said it all: Mickelson wasn’t on board but he also couldn’t resist. He’d be demanding the exact same thing.
The official PGA media guide account painted a more diplomatic picture.
“Because of a two-hour rain delay, and with darkness falling quickly, it wasn’t certain that McIlroy would be able to finish until he got the invitation from Rickie Fowler at the No. 18 tee to hit his tee shot before Fowler and his playing partner, Mickelson—both two shots behind—had reached their drives.”
The invitation!
That may be true of Fowler, but the video shows an understandably reluctant Mickelson trudging forward without ever looking at the official. He was focused on making a much-needed eagle three.
“McIlroy came within a yard of driving into a hazard right of the fairway before getting permission from a PGA of America Rules Official to hit his second shot,” the media guide says.
Mickelson nearly chipped in for eagle. Fowler three-putted in the dark conditions, a fate McIlroy barely avoided as he reveals in today’s Quadrilateral Q&A.
By winning the PGA at Valhalla, McIlroy became the 18th player to win multiple majors in a year. He joined rarified company in winning four majors by age 25: Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Bobby Jones and Young Tom Morris.
What’s happened in the decade since highlights what a silly game it is.
McIlroy’s won all over the world in every type of condition and course. He’s played some of his best golf after being forced into a PGA Tour leadership role and has contended regularly in the 35 majors post-Valhalla, with seven Top 5 finishes and 20 top 10’s since Valhalla.
Whether using advanced statistics or a simple eye test, he’s a more complete player than the energetic lad who held off Mickelson, Fowler and Henrik Stenson in Kentucky. Most impressive of all: his best chances in majors have been on courses that the 25-year-old McIlroy would have struggled with.
Now 35 as of May 4th and returning next week to Valhalla for the 2024 PGA Championship, McIlroy discussed his lasting memories of the finish, key moments from the round, the luck needed to win majors, his evolution as a player, and his affinity for the types of setups he initially struggled with.
Note: highlights of key shots are embedded and viewable on the free Substack app without losing your place during the interview.
GS: What's the first thing that comes to mind about your win that week?
RM: Probably waiting around on Sunday because of the weather. And then I remember starting out lethargic. I was in the lead, then quickly lost the lead. Ricky and Phil were up ahead of me and making a charge, and then on seven, the par five, I hit this really cool chip over the bunker and made birdie there.
And then the eagle on 10 was where everything turned around. The luckiest golf shot of my life. I remembered that I had hit one OB left on ten so I was trying to hit this high draw. Instead, I hit this low necky cut that ran up onto the green to six feet.
I'd gotten maybe one behind at that point and Ricky and Phil fist-pumped each other walking off 11 green. That almost felt like two-on-one in a way. And I was like, ‘I'm going to get these guys.’ And then honestly, I hardly missed a shot on the way in.
We had a couple of clutch birdies coming in and then the rush to the finish with the darkness and everything. When I birdied 17 out of the fairway bunker, I had a two-shot lead. I knew if I made par on eighteen I was probably going to be good enough. And I didn't want to have to sleep on that tee shot going into Monday, so I just wanted to get the thing done. I probably exerted a little bit more of my will than I’m used to with the PGA officials to be like, “no, I think we can get this done.” I don't think the group ahead was very happy with that.
The birdie on 17 from the fairway bunker:
GS: The 2014 final hole portion of the broadcast has 6 million views while the supercut of your last round has 26,000 views, which speaks to how compelling of a scene it remains almost ten years later. Have you watched it? And which wait—tee or fairway--was more difficult?
RM: Yeah, I've watched it back. I think the wait on the tee because it's not a pleasant tee shot. The bunker left is fine but that water is a huge problem and as soon as I hit the tee shot, I knew I'd gotten a little bit ahead of it. So I was like, ‘Uh oh.” But the wait in the fairway and then the overall chaos on 18, I was thinking, well, “when can we hit or are we going to hit?” That was the most stress of the day. The wait on the second shot was fine. Phil, had a chip to make eagle that got really, really close. So as soon as that didn't go in, I knew that I just needed to make five to win. It made my decision easier knowing what I needed to do.
The full 18th hole sequence:
GS: The CBS team on the broadcast kept emphasizing how tough it was just to two-putt from where you were. Was that 34-footer as difficult as it appeared?
RM: Yes, because it was so dark and I remember how antsy I was to try to get the thing over and done with. I hit the putt a little thin. It came off the bottom half of the putter and I was like, “oh no, that needs to go.” But I hit it thin enough that it imparted more topspin and got up the hill to within a few inches. I remember striking the putt thinking I almost came completely up on it all just to see where it was going. But to win major championships or any golf tournament you need a little bit of luck. The second shot on 10 that day and even that two-putt on the last, there was a touch of luck involved in both.
The putt on 18:
GS: You mentioned feeling antsy. Watching that week versus watching you now, you were more animated and fidgety, not just on 18 but overall. Granted, the circumstances with an approaching storm and playing up with the group ahead of you was all pretty nuts, but even watching you in other parts of the round you had an energy about you that was different.
RM: 25-year-old testosterone versus 34-year-old testosterone maybe? (Laughs). Look, at that point in my life, golf was absolutely everything to me. And I lived and died by every result. It's a little different today where I’m married, have a child and after the round you’re just a father. Even at LACC last year, I go back to the house afterward and I'm just dad. It's a different perspective. So I think that's where I don't live and die as much by my results or by the day-to-day anymore like I used to.
GS: Is it fair to say you are a far more complete player now than even when you won four majors in a short span?