When Was the Last Time Rory McIlroy Won a Golf Major Tournament?
By Ben Heisler
It's been a long time since one of golf's great stars took home the Claret Jug at The Open Championship, let alone cemented himself as a major championship winner.
Now, Rory McIlroy has just one round left at the Old Course at St. Andrews to get back into the record books; hoping to capture what he considers the "Holy Grail" of golf.
“It’s the Holy Grail of our sport,” McIlroy says about winning an Open at St. Andrews.
— Golf Central (@GolfCentral) July 12, 2022
The 33-year old McIlroy entered Sunday tied for the lead with Viktor Hovland at 16-under-par; both holding a four-stroke lead over Cameron Young and Cameron Smith at 12-under-par.
With a win on Sunday, McIlroy will capture his first major since August of 2014, when he took home the PGA Championship at Valhalla Country Club in Louisville, Kentucky. Ironically enough, McIlroy also won The Open Championship that year the month prior at Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Merseyside, England. A victory would give him his fifth major championship of his terrific career.
Rory McIlroy, Viktor Hovland Betting Trends to Know
ESPN Stats and Info put out several noteworthy trends to consider before bettors decide to wager on McIlroy, Hovland, or any of the notable names near the top of the leaderboard.
With a win, McIlroy would become just the fourth ever outright pre-tournament betting favorite in the last 25 years to win the British Open, with the other three belonging to Tiger Woods in 2006 (+500), 2005 (+300), and 2000 (+150).
Additionally, this is the first time in McIlroy's career that he's been in the lead in a major championship in eight-plus years. In the last four majors where McIlroy has had the lead after 54 holes, he's gone on to win.
Rory McIlroy doesn’t trail the 54-hole lead in a major for the first time since 2014.⁰
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) July 16, 2022
54-hole leads/co-leads, major career:
2022 Open (tied)
2014 PGA (led by 1) 🏆
2014 Open (led by 6) 🏆
2012 PGA (led by 3) 🏆
2011 U.S. Open (led by 8) 🏆
2011 Masters (led by 4)
As for Hovland, he entered the week at 50/1 at several sportsbooks. Via Jason Sobel, in 11 prior majors, he hasn't finished in the top 10 in any of them, and has not gone top 20 in his last seven stroke-play events.
Where they stand through 54 holes at #TheOpen
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 16, 2022
T1. @McIlroyRory -16
T1. Viktor Hovland -16
T3. Cameron Young -12
T3. Cameron Smith -12
T5. Si Woo Kim -11
T5. Scottie Scheffler -11 pic.twitter.com/p5eSxnEAHk
McIlroy enters Sunday at -115 odds to win, with Hovland behind him at +175. Cameron Smith, four shots back is at +1000 while Cameron Young is +2000.
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