Rory McIlroy moves to no. 6 in World Golf Rankings with win at BMW PGA

May 1, 2014; Charlotte, NC, USA; Rory McIlroy tees off on the fifth hole during the first round of the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow Club. Mandatory Credit: Joshua S. Kelly-USA TODAY Sports
May 1, 2014; Charlotte, NC, USA; Rory McIlroy tees off on the fifth hole during the first round of the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow Club. Mandatory Credit: Joshua S. Kelly-USA TODAY Sports /
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Rory McIlroy won the BMW PGA Championship in dramatic fashion by overcoming a seven-shot deficit in the final round to win by one. The win is his first on the European Tour since the 2012 DP World Tour Championship, and moved him from tenth in the World Golf Rankings to sixth.

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Rory is on a bit of a “comeback tour” after switching clubs in 2013, and going on a winless drought on both the PGA and European Tours. The BMW PGA is the flagship event on the Euro Tour, and is his biggest win since 2012. Rory had an excellent chance to win the PGA Tour’s Honda Classic in late February, but his eagle putt slid by the hole on 18, and he lost in a playoff.

McIlroy shot his way out of his slump with a six-under 66 in the final round to win the BMW PGA by one over Irishman Shane Lowry. He needed to birdie the final two holes to win, and the clutch performance may symbolize a turnaround in the 25-year-old superstar’s season.

Rory had been playing excellent golf leading up to the BMW with four top-10s in a row on the PGA Tour, but you don’t receive the attention unless you win tournaments. That all changed this past weekend, and with more media attention comes higher expectations. The U.S. Open is coming up in a couple weeks, and one has to believe that Rory will be the favorite to win. He is a two-time major winner, and his talent level approaches the man who has carried the golf world for twenty years, Tiger Woods.