Rory Mcllroy joined an elite club on Sunday when he won the coveted Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Florida.
His victory in an event often referred to as the “Fifth Major” enabled him to grab a share of a very special record.
Since 1934 only two men, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods had won 15 or more PGA titles before age 30. After the 29-year-old Northern Irishman’s heroics at Sawgrass, he can now claim to be the third.
McIlroy’s one-stroke victory at the weekend has also firmed up his status as favorite to win this year’s Masters.
McIlroy Is +750 Favourite
Most New Jersey sportsbooks including FanDuel had him sitting pretty atop their Masters lists at +750 after the weekend. He was followed by current World No 1 Dustin Johnson at +1100 with Justin Rose and Tiger Woods at 1300.
Justin Thomas was next at +1500 followed by Bryson Dechambeau and Jon Rahm at +1700. Brooks Koepke and Jordan Spieth were at +1900.
Mcllroy has triumphed in the British and US Opens and twice won the US PGA Championship.
The Masters remains the only one of the four majors he’s yet to win. He’s come close, but to date, the green jacket has remained out of his reach for some unclear reason.
The Ulsterman Needs To Bring A Game To Augusta
He’s got the game to win at Augusta National. No doubt about that, but somehow he has yet to bring it to the table there for four straight days.
There’s been a more solid and mature look about his game, this year, however. He came to Sawgrass with 6 straight top-six finishes and his latest win may well rekindle his winning spirit of old.
So yes, the odds on him claiming his first Green Jacket next month could easily worsen. If you are keen to back him, now might be the time
Johnson has only won one Major, the US Open, but he’s won twice this year and on his day is too good to be ignored.
Rose Is Another Serious Threat
So too is Justin Rose, the World No 2, the Olympic champion and also the owner of a US Open title. Rose has twice finished as an unlucky runner-up at Augusta. He’s 38, but, like a fine wine, he’s maturing superbly. Could 2019 be his third time lucky?
Tiger Woods? This legend in his life time hasn’t won a major in more than 10 years. However, with Master’s titles in 1997, 2001, 2002 and 2005 among his 14 major triumphs, one thing is pretty clear. He knows pristine Augusta like the back of his hand.
Also, he has rediscovered his winning ways and is not and has never been short of big match temperament. We saw that a few months ago when he beat the World’s best at the PGA Tour’s season-closing 2018 Tour Championship.
Like Johnson and Rose, expect him to be one of the biggest threats to a first Masters win for McIlroy.
A good outsider? Jordan Spieth could be your man. He’s stumbled some in the last year or so and tumbled from the upper rungs on the World Rankings list to No 30.
But the talent and drive are there. The 25-year-old Texan has won the Masters once (2015), finished second in 2014 and third last year. You can’t write him off and at +1900 (+2000 in some books), he’s pretty good value.
