McIlroy produces Pebble Beach masterclass to claim big PGA Tour win

Rory McIlroy produced a stunning back-nine scoring burst to make a winning start to his PGA Tour season with an impressive two-shot victory at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

McIlroy went into the final round a shot behind Ryder Cup team-mate Sepp Straka and was tied for the lead at the turn, only to pull clear of a congested leaderboard with a stunning start to the back nine.

The Northern Irishman played a six-hole stretch in five under – including a brilliant eagle at the par-five 14th – to open a four-stroke advantage, then closed out a six-under 66 to finish on 21 under and claim a 27th PGA Tour victory.

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McIlroy’s winning margin was reduced by Shane Lowry’s fast finish, with five birdies in the last eight holes helping him to solo second, while Justin Rose’s stunning final-hole eagle lifted him to tied-third alongside Lucas Glover.

Tom Kim – who held a share of the lead for a large chunk of the final day – dropped back into tied-seventh with Straka, with world No 1 Scottie Scheffler marking his return from injury by claiming a share of ninth place.

McIlroy beats Ryder Cup team-mates to PGA Tour win

Straka immediately lost his overnight advantage when he failed to get up and down to save par from the sand at the first, with the Austrian falling one behind his playing partners when McIlroy and Lowry both birdie the par-five second.

McIlroy briefly held the solo lead when Lowry three-putted from long range to bogey the third, only for Lowry to respond with a birdie and Rose also to pick up a shot at the fourth to make it a three-way tie on 16 under.

A three-putt par from McIlroy at the par-five sixth was cancelled out by a 12-foot birdie at the iconic par-three next, temporarily restoring his one-shot advantage, only for him to bogey the next and see him reach the turn tied with Lowry and Straka.

McIlroy edged back ahead by converting from 18 feet at the tenth and responded to missing a birdie chance at the next by holing an eight-foot birdie at the 12th, doubling his advantage, before jumping further clear on the par-five 14th.

He reached the par-five green in two and drained the 25-foot putt for eagle, with a close-range birdie at the par-four next extending his lead to four strokes and moving him with a shot of Brandt Snedeker’s 72-hole tournament record.

Lowry posted three birdies in a four-hole stretch from the 11th and made another from nine feet at the 16th, only to miss a chance from closer at the par-three 17th to see McIlroy head to the final hole with a three-shot cushion.

McIlroy elected to lay up on the par-five last and two-putted from 30 feet to confirm tournament victory, his first on the PGA Tour since May’s Wells Fargo Championship, while Lowry birdied the 18th to finish solo second ahead of Glover.

Glover missed a string of birdie opportunities on the back nine of his final-round 67 and finished on 18 under alongside Rose, who mixed four birdies and two bogeys with an incredible final-hole eagle, while Russell Henley and Cam Davis rounded off the top-five.

McIlroy proud of victory at historic venue

McIlroy’s victory is his first in California since the 2015 WGC Match Play, with the 35-year-old now having at least one PGA Tour victory in each of the last eight seasons.

“Some people would argue the golf courses I have won on are not up to a Pebble Beach or an Augusta, but to win at one of the cathedrals of golf is really, really cool,” McIlroy told CBS.

“I knew today was going to be tough, it was going to be exciting, there were so many guys around the lead and I guess with it being Pebble Beach I had to put that to the back of my mind and go out there and try to shoot a score, which I was able to. Really cool to have that walk up 18 and take it all in.

“I said to Harry (Diamond, his caddie) walking up the last, start as you mean to go on. I’m just as determined this year in any of the years I’ve been out here on the PGA Tour and to get this win this early it means a great deal and hopefully just keep the momentum going into Torrey Pines in a couple of weeks’ time.”

What’s next?

The PGA Tour moves to Arizona for the WM Phoenix Open, where world No 1 Scottie Scheffler – a two-time winner of the event – headlines and Nick Taylor returns as defending champion after last year’s play-off victory. Early coverage begins on Thursday from 2.15pm on Sky Sports Golf ahead of full coverage from 9pm.

McIlroy will be back in TGL action for Boston Common on Wednesday morning (2am start UK time), live on Sky Sports, before featuring on the PGA Tour at the Genesis Invitational from February 13-16. Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract on NOW.