Rory McIlroy shouted an expletive at a heckler who distracted him at a crucial moment in the final round of the US PGA Championship.
The world number two swore as he told the fan to “shut up” and seemingly urged security to remove the spectator from the grounds at the Aronimink venue.
Sunday’s incident was reminiscent of McIlroy’s heated Ryder Cup campaign last year, when he was the subject of frequent abuse by United States supporters during Europe’s victory at Bethpage Black.
Northern Ireland’s McIlroy, who won his second consecutive Masters and sixth major overall last month, closed with a one-under-par 69 at the US PGA to finish four under overall and tied for seventh in Pennsylvania.
He was five strokes adrift of victor Aaron Rai, who became the first Englishman to win the event’s Wanamaker Trophy in over a century.
The incident with the spectator occurred on the par-five 16th, with McIlroy chipping out of the rough into a greenside bunker after heckling during his backswing.
He moved within five feet of the pin with his next shot and sank his par putt, but would have seen the hole as an opportunity for a birdie.
McIlroy said after the round that he will not compete again until the PGA Tour’s Memorial tournament in three weeks, with June’s US Open at Shinnecock following a fortnight later.
NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. — Aaron Rai shifted into high gear Sunday and pulled away from a world-class field with one amazing shot after another until he became the first English-born player in more than a century to capture the PGA Championship.
Rai, who dreamed of being a Formula 1 driver until he turned to golf as a boy, was three shots behind and approaching the turn at Aronimink Golf Club when he delivered a performance worthy of a major champion.
He made a 40-foot eagle putt on the par-5 ninth during a stretch when he one-putted seven straight greens to take the lead.
And on the closing holes when the contenders needed him to stumble, Rai holed a birdie putt of some 70 feet across the 17th green for the clincher.
The 31-year-old Rai, the first player of Indian heritage to win a major, closed with a 5-under 65.
Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele, Justin Rose, they all had their chances and until they were undone by untimely mistakes or failure to get good looks at birdie. McIlroy, who closed with a 69, played the par fives in even for the week and he chopped up the reachable par-4 13th for a bogey.
Rai, who finished at nine-under 271, is the first player from England with his name on the Wanamaker Trophy since Jim Barnes in 1919, the second edition of this major and the first after World War I.
He wound up winning by three shots over 54-hole leader Alex Smalley and Rahm, who had his best finish in a major since defecting to LIV Golf at the end of 2023. Rahm was slowed by a pair of bogeys on the front nine, and managed only one birdie on the back nine for a 68.
Aaron Rai and wife Gaurika Bishnoi hold the Wanamaker Trophy.
(Frank Franklin II / AP)
Smalley lost the lead with a messy double bogey on the sixth hole, and his best golf was too late. Rai already had his eye on the Wanamaker Trophy.
Justin Thomas made a 16-foot par putt on the final hole for a 65 and pulled him within one shot of the lead as the final group was in the second fairway. For the longest time, as Aronimink got tougher and the pressure got tighter, it looked like Thomas might have a chance.
Like everything else on this final day, Rai ended those hopes, too.
So ended a most remarkable week in the Philadelphia suburbs, where no one could separate themselves on Aronimink. The 22 players within four shots of the lead going into the final round was a PGA Championship record.
From that pack emerged the 31-year-old Rai, with one PGA Tour title, three on the European tour, and no finishes inside the top 15 at any of the majors.
He might not be well known among casual observers, but he is a star in the eyes of his peers for his humility and gracious personality.
“You won’t find one person on property who’s not happy for him,” McIlroy said.
“Super pumped for him and his team,” Schauffele said. “All-world gentleman, no doubt.”
Rory McIlroy hits from the bunker on the 16th green.
(Carolyn Kaster / AP)
He wears two gloves, a habit he started as a kid in England to battle the cold winters when he was practicing — and he was always practicing. Even more unusual for Rai is the plastic covers on each iron, a reminder of his roots.
He once said his father sacrificed to buy the nicest golf clubs and then would clean the grooves with baby oil after his son was done playing. Rai has left the iron covers on since then “to remember where I cam from and to respect what I have.”
Now he has his name on the Wanamaker Trophy and his place in history.
The third rounds of golf tournaments are commonly known as ‘moving day’, and Saturday at the US PGA Championship lived up to the billing as stars and lesser lights jostled for position on a crowded and fast-moving leaderboard.
Remarkably, 14 players held at least a share of the lead at some point and 30 will go into Sunday’s final round within five shots of surprise leader Alex Smalley who is at six under after a two-under 68.
Over the first two days at Aronimink, with the more severe aspects of the course set-up generating much discussion, it felt more like the brutal examination usually reserved for the US Open.
Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy – the world’s top two players – were among those to weigh in with less than complimentary observations, with the former going as far as describing some of Friday’s pin positions as “absurd”.
The PGA of America listened. The governing body moved some tees up and made several pins more accessible which, coupled with more benign conditions, has produced a classic major leaderboard that houses a mix of heavy hitters and less illustrious names.
Several big-time players capitalised on more favourable scoring conditions in the early stages.
McIlroy, who was outside the top 100 after a four-over opening 74 on Thursday, bettered Friday’s 67 by one to improve to three under and boost his hopes of following last month’s successful Masters defence with his third US PGA title.
Other major winners to vault up the leaderboard included Justin Rose, whose superb 65 left him at two under and revived his hopes of landing an elusive second major, and Jon Rahm, who is two off the lead after carding a 67 to maintain his push for the third leg of a career Grand Slam.
Rose isn’t the only man trying to end a 107-year wait for an English winner of this championship, with Aaron Rai alongside Rahm, Ludvig Aberg, Nick Taylor and Matti Schmid on four under.
Not everyone prospered. Scheffler, who shot a Saturday 65 on his way to winning last year’s US PGA, surprisingly stuttered to a 71 and is five adrift.
Going into the tournament there was a lot of talk centering on how Aronimink could prove too easy for the world’s best.
The last men’s tournament held here, a PGA Tour event in 2018, was won by Keegan Bradley who defeated Justin Rose in a play-off after they finished on 20 under par – although rain helped soften the greens and contribute to low scoring.
And this week, even if bombed drives missed wide fairways, the belief was that players would be able to gouge wedges out of the thick rough onto greens and lead to a putt-off.
The PGA of America has responded by setting up the course in a manner which aimed to disprove that.
The rough has largely been penal for those who have been unable to keep the ball on the fairways, while the severity of the slopes on the greens have generally caused havoc, with more three-putts after two rounds than during the whole of the Masters.
McIlroy suffered on Thursday when his wayward driving was heavily punished, but spending extra time on the range after his opening round to “find feeling” paid off on Friday.
Hitting more fairways set up more birdie chances and eliminated mistakes in one of only two bogey-free rounds.
“I saw that no-one was really getting away so I thought if I could get back to even par for the tournament I’d be right in there,” McIlroy told BBC Sport NI.
“I didn’t quite get there but I still think at one over I’ve got a great chance over the last couple days.”
Missing fairways did not hamper McNealy too much, however.
The 30-year-old former world number one amateur ranks tied 143rd – out of a 156-man field – with his driving accuracy – but has used his short irons superbly to launch a challenge.
“I think this is one of the few courses I can compete on without hitting enough fairways, I think the missed fairways penalty isn’t as bad as other places,” he said.
“Fairways are definitely easier to control the ball and I hope to hit more this weekend.”
Alex Fitzpatrick’s hopes of a first individual win on the PGA Tour were dashed as Kristoffer Reitan claimed a maiden victory at the Truist Championship on Sunday.
England’s Fitzpatrick went into the final round with a one-shot lead over Reitan but his Norwegian rival secured a two-shot victory at Quail Hollow in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The 28-year-old fired a two-under round of 69 to reach 15 under overall, with Denmark’s Nicolai Hojgaard and American Rickie Fowler tied for second.
Fitzpatrick was a shot further back after a round of 73, which began with a bogey and double bogey inside his first three holes.
The 27-year-old recovered to level par with his fourth birdie on the 13th hole, giving him a share of the lead.
There was a four-way tie at the top of the leaderboard on the back nine but while others faltered, Reitan stayed steady to win on only his 15th PGA start.
Fitzpatrick won the Zurich Classic with his older brother Matt last month, which earned him a two-year exemption on the PGA Tour.
He then finished in the top 10 at the Cadillac Championship and was one stroke behind Reitan before his second double bogey of the day on the par-three 17th.
Compatriot Tommy Fleetwood finished in a tie for fifth on 11 under after closing with a two-under 69.
Fitzpatrick, the world number 120, told Sky Sports: “It’s still very surreal [to be in contention]. It’s crazy to feel disappointed but I still am.
“I’m happy for Kris, he deserves it, and hopefully it’ll be mine another time.”
World number four Matt Fitzpatrick finished on one-over after a final round 72 while Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy bounced back from a 75 on Saturday to finish with a 67 on five under.
Alex Fitzpatrick hit a sparkling seven-under-par 64 to seize a one-shot lead heading into the final round of the Truist Championship at Quail Hollow.
The 27-year-old younger brother of former US Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick produced an inspired display, carding eight birdies to move to 14 under par and put himself in pole position for a maiden individual PGA Tour title.
Fitzpatrick leads Norway’s Kristoffer Reitan, who also posted a 64, by a single stroke.
It is just a fortnight since the Fitzpatrick brothers won the Zurich Classic of New Orleans pairs event, which secured a two-year tour card for Alex, who is ranked 120th in the world.
World number two Rory McIlroy, a four-time winner at this venue, suffered a frustrating Saturday, carding a four-over-par 75 to fall out of contention.
Starting the day two shots off the lead, Fitzpatrick surged forward with five birdies on the front nine.
Despite a stumble with a bogey at the 16th, he responded immediately by sinking an eight-foot putt for birdie at the par-three 17th to regain his narrow advantage.
“The one thing that I kind of did a really good job today was embracing everything that’s going on,” Fitzpatrick said.
“I had so much support out there, which was amazing.
“I would love to win. I would give a lot to win. But also if winning doesn’t happen, I would hope it would happen at some point. As long as I can go out and enjoy it, that’s all I can do.”
In contrast, McIlroy’s bid for another victory – following his triumph at The Masters last month – collapsed on a difficult afternoon in Charlotte for the man from Northern Ireland.
Six bogeys meant he slid down the leaderboard to one under par, leaving him 13 shots adrift of the leader.
American Cameron Young carded the lowest round of the day, a sensational eight-under 63, to sit alone in third at 12 under. Young, who won last week’s Cadillac Championship, had his only dropped shot at 18, where a wayward tee shot proved costly.
South Korea’s Sungjae Im, the halfway leader, sits at 10 under after a 70, alongside Denmark’s Nicolai Hojgaard whose 67 put him firmly in contention.
England’s Tommy Fleetwood remains in the hunt after a 70, sitting in a tie for sixth at nine under par alongside two-time major winner Justin Thomas.
The Fitzpatricks missed the cut in last year’s Zurich Classic and finished in a tie for 11th in 2024.
But this victory earns them a cheque worth £1m.
“It was a struggle,” Matt, who won the 2022 US Open, said.
“I was doing zero to help him but he was fantastic on the back nine. I said ‘just give us a chance on the last to hit a bunker shot like that’.”
“It means the world. I’m absolutely speechless, it was a grind today but he was unbelievable and I could not be more proud.”
The event was played over four rounds, with teams of two alternating between fourball (best ball) in the first and third rounds and foursomes (alternate shot) in the second and fourth rounds.
