local knowledge
A look back at Rory's last major win: The wild finish at Valhalla, 2014
Andrew Redington
Is there a curse of Valhalla that can only be broken at Valhalla? That might be the fervent hope of Rory McIlroy, who journeys to Louisville for this week's PGA Championship at the site of his last major victory, in August 2014. The decade-long drought has become normal with time, but looked at from the heady summer of 2014, it's shocking; Rory was on top of the world, and at age 25 had seemed to step comfortably into the role of golf's juggernaut recently vacated by an injured and aging Tiger Woods. A strong spring that included a win at the BMW PGA Championship segued into a scorching summer, and after wins at the Open Championship and the WGC-Bridgestone, he came into Valhalla for the PGA Championship as the No. 1 player in the world and with the wind in his sails.
He was expected to win that week, and his player on Thursday through Saturday didn't disappoint, but on Sunday, things began to get a little strange. A rain delay that brought play to a standstill and forced the leaders to tee off after 4 p.m. created strange scenes, with multiple groups caught on the same tee in a logjam. Rory himself struggled at the start, and fell behind by three shots at the turn to his rivals Rickie Fowler and Phil Mickelson. The heat and humidity rose to unbearable levels, and the fans slipped and slid along the muddy footpaths, as McIlroy began his late charge to erase the gap and claim his fourth major title.
The events of the next two hours, culminating in near darkness on the 18th tee, remain one of the most bizarre endings to a major championship we've ever seen, and stand out with clarity today because of the way Rory would deal in painful near misses for a full decade. Valhalla saw him at his most robust, his most confident, his most intimidating. Great skill, a little luck, and a show of unique willpower saw him cross the finish line as the skies opened again in Kentucky. He's never been back to that mountaintop, and as he finds himself in Valhalla again, we take a look back at his last great conquest in this week's episode of Local Knowledge. Listen below, or wherever you get your podcasts.