McIlroy the freckled face of world game

In any other year we would be extolling the virtues of Shane Lowry and Michael Hoey for their European Tour victories and basking in the glory of the most successful event in the history of the circuit following the triumphant return of a sell-out Irish Open to Royal Portrush.

It was a year that brought Irish golf more glory on the amateur scene with Rathmore’s Alan Dunbar becoming the seventh player from these shores to win the British Amateur Championship following his nerve-tingling one-hole win over Austria’s Matthias Schwab at Royal Troon.

We could highlight Graeme McDowell’s close calls in the Majors and his return to the winner’s circle after a two-year absence thanks to his win in Tiger Woods’ end-of-season World Challenge in California earlier this month.

We could point to the tentative revival in Pádraig Harrington’s fortunes with his top-10 finishes in the Masters and the US Open and his subsequent victory in the PGA Grand Slam of Golf in Bermuda.

Yet the 2012 season had just one face, not just for Irish golf but for the world game: Rory McIlroy.

The freckled-faced 23-year-old from Co Down ended the year with the biggest lead at the top of the world rankings since Woods in 2009 following a season of unrivalled brilliance, highlighted by his eight-stroke victory in the US PGA Championship at Kiawah Island in August.

McIlroy’s second Major championship victory was just one of a host of brilliant achievements that led to him being recognised with virtually every major award including the PGA Tour and European Tour Player of the Year prizes.

True potential

What is even more remarkable about his year is that even though he won five times, to repeat Luke Donald’s feat of capturing the money titles on both sides of the Atlantic, his mid-season mini slump and failure to contend in the other three Majors would suggest that he has only scratched the surface of his true potential.

In common with the performances of Portugal Masters winner Lowry, Hassan II Trophy champion Hoey and those of McDowell and Harrington in the Majors, McIlroy’s performances have led Irish observers to look forward to 2013 with more hope than ever.

In McIlroy’s case, those who sniggered at Harrington’s suggestion, following that maiden eight-stroke victory in last year’s US Open, that we were looking at a player capable of challenging Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 Major titles have now changed their tune.

Former world number one Greg Norman said recently that McIlroy, not Woods, is the man most likely to threaten the Golden Bear’s milestone.

McIlroy, understandably, is playing down the hype though he is easily the game’s biggest attraction having secured the biggest contract in the history of the sport with what is believed to be a $250m move to take over from Woods as the face of Nike next year.

“I’m not trying to emulate anyone or match anyone,” McIlroy said, after his eight-shot victory broke Nicklaus’s US PGA record for largest winning margin by one stroke. I’ve got my second Major, which feels unbelievable and I’ll be working towards my third. But first I just have to enjoy this moment.”

Having lost to Hunter Mahan in the final of the WGC-Accenture Match Play in Tucson in February, McIlroy’s annus mirabilis began in earnest in March when he held off a charging Woods to win the Honda Classic and become the youngest world number one since the Californian at the age of 22.

The rest of the spring and early summer was a disappointment as he lost form and finished tied 40th behind Bubba Watson in the Masters and missed the cut in the Players Championship (Matt Kuchar) and the BMW PGA at Wentworth (Luke Donald).

He also missed the cut in his defence of the US Open at Olympic Club, where long-putter-wielding Webb Simpson triumphed by a shot from McDowell and Michael Thompson.

He was 60th in the British Open at Royal Lytham and St Annes, where South Africa’s Ernie Els took advantage of disappointing final rounds by McDowell and overnight leader Adam Scott to win his fourth Major at the age of 42.

Buoyed by a pep talk from putting coach Dave Stockton and swing work with his now full-time coach Michael Bannon, the rest of McIlroy’s year was an exhibition.

Following his triumph in the US PGA at Kiawah Island, he entered the FedEx Cup play-offs on top but ended up second behind Tour Championship winner Brandt Snedeker, despite going to East Lake in Atlanta on a high following back-to-back wins in the Deutsche Bank Championship at TPC Boston and the BMW Championship at Crooked Stick in Indiana.

Still, he topped the PGA Tour money list with earnings of over $8 million and having helped Europe retain the Ryder Cup, went on to complete the money list double on both sides of the Atlantic.

Third place in the Singapore Open gave McIlroy the Race to Dubai title two weeks before the season-ending DP World Tour Championship in Dubai, where he confirmed his dominance by finishing with five successive birdies to beat Donald by two shots and become the youngest player to win the Harry Vardon Trophy since Scotland’s Sandy Lyle in 1980.

In the process, he took his combined US and European Tour winnings for 2012 to $11,953,316, beating Woods’ 2007 record earnings of $11,557,729 as the biggest single-season cash haul of all time.

Dunbar’s victory

The highlight of the men’s amateur season was Dunbar’s victory in the British Amateur at Royal Troon while in the domestic championships, Moyola Park’s Chris Selfridge won the Irish Close and East of Ireland titles, with Harry Diamond (West of Ireland), Rory McNamara (North), Gavin Moynihan (Irish Amateur Open) and Pat Murray (South) the other big winners.

In women’s amateur golf, Stephanie Meadow and Leona Maguire were members of the Great Britain and Ireland side that captured five of Sunday’s eight singles to win the Curtis Cup 10½-9½ at Nairn in Scotland.

Leona also won the Irish Women’s Close Championship, beating Stephanie in the final at Baltray while England’s Emily Taylor won the Irish Women’s Open Strokeplay at The Island.

Scotland’s Catriona Matthew held off Norway’s Suzann Pettersen to win the Ladies Irish Open at Killeen Castle while in the PGA Irish Region, Waterville’s David Higgins won the PGA Irish Championship at Mount Juliet and the Order of Merit before winning his European Tour card at the Qualifying School finals at PGA Catalunya Resort in Spain.

Seve inspires the Miracle of Medinah

It will go down in Ryder Cup history as ‘The Miracle of Medinah’ when José María Olazábal’s Europe, inspired by the spirit of the late Seve Ballesteros and the brilliance of Ian Poulter, came from 10-6 behind entering the final day’s singles to defeat Davis Love III’s United States by 14½-13½ in Chicago.

It was Europe’s seventh win in nine matches since 1995, prompting the PGA of America to invite eight-time Major winner Tom Watson to take the reins at Gleneagles in Scotland in 2014, when he will become the oldest Ryder Cup captain in history at the age of 65.

In Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell, Irish golf had two representatives in a side that trailed 8-4 with two session to go. It became 10-4 midway through the Saturday afternoon fourballs before Europe showed signs of life.

Sergio Garcia and Luke Donald beat Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker before Poulter, partnered by McIlroy, birdied the last five holes to defeat Jason Dufner and Zach Johnson one up and give Europe a glimmer of hope.

“We have a pulse,” Poulter told his team-mates on Saturday night.

Even though McIlroy almost missed his singles, arriving in a police car less than 10 minutes before his tee time, Europe rode a wave of momentum to win the singles 8½ points to 3½ and complete the biggest comeback by an away team in the history of the competition.

Poulter was heralded as the man who made it all possible as Watson eloquently explained on his appointment recently.

“When he made those five birdies in a row on Saturday, and just gave them a little breath, just a little bit of hope; it was like just on the horizon there was a cloud that was the harbinger for the next day,” Watson said.

“And when that next day happened, that cloud grew to a storm. And when those first five matches all went blue midway through the matches, that storm was howling.”