After a compelling and dramatic final day at Wentworth, Rory McIlroy would complete a remarkable turnaround to win the BMW PGA Championship.
Starting the day seven shots behind 54-hole leader Thomas Bjorn, the two-time major champion would shoot a stunning final round of 66 to take advantage of the veteran Dane’s Sunday struggles to claim his first professional victory on European soil.
Bjorn would succumb to a three-over par round of 75 to throw away a five shot lead, and it led to a rollercoaster of a final round. With two-time winner Luke Donald and Shane Lowry also in the mix, it was McIlroy who would look the most convincing down the stretch, with two closing birdies completing a fantastic back-nine of 32.
In the end, the Northern Irishman would finish one shot ahead of Lowry at 14-under, with Bjorn and Donald a shot further back.
After a week that began with the ending of his engagement to Tennis star Caroline Wozniacki, McIlroy would end it by claiming his first win on the European Tour since he secured victory at the DP World Tour Championship in 2012.
"It's been 18 months since I won on The European Tour and to win the flagship event, I could not have asked for any more,” McIlroy said.
Despite undergoing a largely difficult 2013, the former world number one has been in strong form since October. After finishing in a tie for second at the Kolon Korean Open on the OneAsia Tour, McIlroy has since posted ten top ten finishes around the world, with a victory at the Australian Open in November being the obvious highlight.
"I knew coming in here I was playing well. I struggled a little on Friday but played great over the weekend. I was a little fortunate that some of the guys ahead of me made mistakes and I took advantage of it.
"My caddie JP set me the target of 15 under today. I didn't quite get there but 14 under was enough. I really wanted to win before going into the second major of the season (the US Open) and I could not have asked for a better way to prepare.”
While much focus will be on the 25-year-old’s personal life coming into this week, what makes this victory all the more remarkable, was is inauspicious record at Wentworth. He had missed the cut in each of his last two appearances in the BMW PGA, but any doubts of his ability to play this iconic venue were extinguished.
"It's been a great day," added McIlroy. “Going out seven behind I did not really expect to be in this position.
"Thomas was playing very well and I thought I would need something really spectacular to catch him but walking off the 11th tee I saw I was only two behind and thought I had a chance."
Bjorn had started the day five shots clear of Luke Donald, but the tournament was thrown wide open after the 43-year-old former Wentworth resident made a triple bogey on the sixth.
That opened the door for 27-year-old Shane Lowry, who came into the week ranked a lowly 165th on the Race to Dubai. The bubbly Irishman briefly moved three clear of the field following three successive birdies at the start of the back-nine, but a double bogey on the 13th would prove costly.
Like Bjorn, Donald, who won this Championship in 2011 and 2012, would make triple on the sixth, but rebounded with five birdies in his next ten holes, but his failure to birdie the closing two par fives would end his chances of claiming a third victory in four years.
"Obviously I would love to take that sixth hole back today, as would Thomas, but I was proud of the way I came back and fought back after that to be five under for the last 12," Donald said.
"I gave it a shot at the last but came up about a couple feet short, but I'm happy for Rory. We all know what he's been going through and sometimes making those tough decisions maybe takes a weight off your mind in a way and he can engulf himself in the golf."
Lowry would make a stunning birdie on the 18th to secure sole possession of second, and was naturally pleased to complete his best week for some time: "I feel very unlucky. I know I hit a poor tee shot (on 13) but found myself in probably the only bush like that on the course and was struggling from there.
"But to hole the birdie putt on the last and to finish second on my own is really nice."
It was an eventful week for Rory McIlroy, but one that saw him claim a victory that his form this year has merited. As he enters the meat of the season in the coming weeks, the supremely gifted Ulsterman may yet add to his haul of major trophies, and re-establish himself at the pinnacle of the sport.
Overall, it was a tremendous tournament, with a fascinating conclusion. The European Tour’s “flagship” event, like McIlroy, certainly lived up to its billing.