He finished on a final round of 66, with an overall finish of 13-under placing him a whole 8 shots ahead of second place David Lynn. His lead was so impressive that it took the PGA margin of victory record from Jack Nicklaus.

There were some glimmers of competition in the final round, predominantly from Ian Poulter who got to within 2 shots of Rory but blew his chances when he bogeyed three successive shots. In truth it never really looked Rory had much to worry about as he traversed the course with an ease that betrays it’s reputation as the hardest course in world. That’s not to say that Rory didn’t find trouble, he hit a shot right in to a tree branch in Round 3 and hit another under a tree later, but every time he recovered for par or better.

SOURCE: (c) GETTY

Rory’s win takes him to first place in world rankings, knocking Luke-best-player-not-to-have-won-a-major-Donald off the top spot in the process. Luke finished T32.

Second place David Lynn put in a sterling performance, despite being 8 shots off Rory, something altogether more impressive given he hasn’t played a Major in 9 years.

Joint third place Ian Poulter who looked like challenging for the lead at one time played some fantastic golf right up until that triple bogey all but dashed his chances of overtaking a phenomenal Rory.

Keegan Bradley also took the third place spot and put up a very respectable defence for his title as 2011′s PGA winner.

Other notable finishers were Adam Scott who hoped to forget his Open meltdown with a win at the PGA. He finished T11 with Tiger Woods who has struggled to find his best major form this season.

Being the last major of the season Rory can now reflect on his win until next April’s Masters.

Last year’s Championship offered a nail biting finale uncannily similar to the Adam Scott meltdown at Royal Lytham only two weeks ago, where Ernie Els clawed back a victory from 5 shots behind at the 10^th. The same happened at last year’s Championship when Jason Dufner blew a 5 shot lead at the 15^th to give Keegan Bradley his first major.

The Ocean Course, Kiawah Island

This year the event takes place at the picturesque Ocean course at Kiawah Island, a course that on a bad day can easily ruin the finest golfers of our time.

Remade in 1989 after the disaster hurricane ‘Hugo’, then home to the epic 1991 Ryder Cup, today the course is a devastating combination of wild, unpredictable winds and daunting length at a whopping 7,676 yards.

Most links courses feature strong winds, but usually there is some relief afforded by the sand dunes around the course, not so at Kiawah Island. You see in order in to ensure consistently breath-taking views of the Atlantic Ocean that surrounds the course, the designer Pete Dye under the advice of his wife raised the fairways by 7-feet leaving them wide open to the punishing winds which at times can make the course excruciatingly difficult. The course is so difficult in fact, that in 2010 it was named the ‘toughest course in America’ by Golf Digest. With four Par 5’s, it’s easy to see how it got that name.

It’s hard to predict who will win this year’s event with such unpredictable course characteristics and the unpredictability of the game itself. Interestingly, the last 16 major winners have all been different, suggesting we’ll see another surprise victor this time.

The odds say that Tiger (9/1) has the best chance and why not? He’s on home turf, is in good form and adapts well to changing course conditions . Rory (18/1) is well rated but has had some real hit and miss performances this year. Luke Donald (18/1) almost always performs well but has yet to win a major. Jason Dufner (28/1) who tumbled at the last hurdle one year ago is in good form and will certainly feel he has something to prove this year, as will Keegan Bradley (40/1), last year’s surprise winner who must try and defend the title against the odds.

One thing’s for sure, there will be plenty of surprises at this year’s US PGA Championship.

Early on Scott looked set to finish in the upper end of leader board with a  master class performance on the first round equalling the course record of 64. Solid performance took him to the final round where he led by 4, the stage was set for a comfortable win.

By the 10th hole Scott held a 5 shot lead and looked certain to achieve success but the meltdown started as chasing Ernie Els birdied the 12th and 14th holes to reduce the gap to 4 but with only 4 holes to go,  still taking the title from Scott looked all but impossible. Scott faltered under the pressure and bogeyed the 15th, 16th and 17th holes including a missed 3 foot putt that’s sure to be the stuff of nightmares for the 32-year old for years to come. This brought the scores level and opened the opportunity for Els to take his fourth major win. On the 18th with the stakes considerably raised for Scott, Ernie scored a fantastic birdie on the 15th leaving Scott with a difficult but not impossible challenge of securing a playoff.

Scott drove into a bunker and as the ball struck the deep walls of one of Royal Lytham’s famously unforgiving bunkers, his dreams of winning this year’s open were all but gone. He finished on a fourth consecutive bogey to hand Els his fourth major  win at one of the most dramatic and surprising open finishes in recent history, one which has been compared to Jean van de Velde’s collapse at Carnoustie. The 42 year old South African was a deserving winner, puting in a sterling performance on the back 9 and delivering a consistently impressive performance throughout. In fact he was the only person to finish all four rounds at par of better, a testament to his talent and the level of consistency required to win a major.

His win echoes that of last years’ champion Darren Clarke, also in his early 40’s and a rank outsider going into the competition, demonstrating that golf is a game that can be played a high level at 40 and beyond. Darren this year said he was ‘disgusted’ at his performance as he failed to make the cut but reflected on the excellent year he’s enjoyed as the 2011 winner “‘I am disappointed to be going home early, of course. It’s been a great year and I will never forget it.”

The final scores for the event are:

-        Ernie Els -7

-        Adam Scott -6

-        Tiger woods -3

-        Brandt Snedeker -3

-        Luke Donald -2

Similarly to Scott, the other big hitters all had a difficult last round, especially on the 6^th hole where both Woods and Graeme McDowell hit the bunker, with Woods, who looked like a real contender until the 6th, hitting his first triple bogey in 9 years.

Luke Donald played well but saved his best for just a little too late, still he’ll be pleased with a 5^th place finish.

Els was in great spirits after the win and gave a great account of his friend and runner up Adam Scott, saying “ You’re a great friend of mind and you’re going to win many of these. You have too much talent.”

Congratulations to Ernie Els.

Whilst Darren had always been a very talented and upcoming golfing professional, he was always labelled as something of an underachiever by his critics. The death of his wife Heather and a move to London away from the links courses he grew up on didn’t help his game and he could have easily fallen into obscurity. But his dedication, strong will and love of the game persevered and a move back to Ireland and meeting his now wife Alison sparked a comeback which culminated in an epic Open victory no one but his most staunch supporters could have predicted.

Darren finished five under after holding his nerve with a final round level par 70, which his eagle on the 7th played no small part in, to take the Claret jug on the 140th Open. Chubby Chandler, Darren’s manager of 21 years spoke highly of the victory and what it meant for his star signing and good friend noting that “The hardest thing in golf is to be labelled an underachiever. Today, Darren lost that tag.”

Upon winning Darren joked “There might be lots of Irish black stuff in this trophy this evening as I’m fond of a beverage from time to time.” but on handing the Claret jug back this year admitted he had too much respect for the trophy to fill it with fluid. Although he did acknowledge that the Claret jug sustained a little superficial damage under his care, he was quick to point out that he wasn’t the culprit.

This year the event will be held at Royal Lytham and St Annes Golf Club where the championship was last held in 2001.

There has already been controversy with both Tiger Woods and Darren Clarke both concerned of the difficulty in the set up for this year’s event with Tiger calling it “unplayable” and Darren describing the course as “Brutal”. This will be a course that rewards accuracy above all else and those who are wayward may provide ample entertainment as they attempt to hack the ball out of the wild rough.

Changes to the course this year include a re-designed 7th hole, a longer 11th hole and 6th hole reduced from a par five to par four, just in case the burgeoning rough’s doesn’t make the course quite challenging enough.

So who’s tipped to win this year? At odds of 8-1 Tiger Woods is the first choice of many with some excellent recent performances including wins at AT&T National and the Memorial Tournament under his belt in recent months. Despite missing the cut in his last tournament he remains a solid favourite. Other top picks are the usual suspects Lee Westwood (14-1), Luke Donald (16-1), Padraig Harrington (16-1) and Rory McIlroy (16-1) all looking very favourable to win it this year. What of last year’s champion Darren? Despite less favourable odds of 125-1, being an outsider didn’t stop him last year and we certainly wouldn’t rule him out this year either.

Singh came up through the ranks in the last round scoring an impressive 67, taking the competition to a playoff with Molinari. With just one birdie standing between the Italian and the title, his shot was left well short puting the ball once again back in Sigh’s court, where he putted excellently to take the title. A fantastic result for a player ranked just 192nd in the world, with his previous best being a T9 finish at the 2008 US PGA.

He has now taken the last remaining qualifying place for the Open, which he’ll certainly fancy himself to play well at given his great links performance at the Scottish Open.

Molinari finished 2nd at 17 under, with Noren Alexander who at one point looked like clinching the title tying with Marc Warren. Luke Donald, the bookies favourite finished T16 after a solid but unexemplary performance.

Now in its second year holding the Scottish Open, the Castle Stuart links course has been the new home of the Scottish Open since it was decided that the event should take place on a links course due to its proximity to The Open, itself played on a Links course.

Following last years’ freak rain storm which left bunkers battered and fairways entrenched in water, a new drainage system has been introduced which should avoid any reduced hole shenanigans that plagued last years’ event. The weather is forecast to be better than last year, but don’t worry about packing your sun cream if you’re making the trip up – it’s going to be typical Highland with strong winds expected on day one, slightly easing as the event goes on.

Changes this year for the par 72 course include additional bunkers on the 5th, 14th and 19th holes as well as increased lengths for the 12th and 14th holes which should be enough to quell any fears that the course was a little ‘easy’. Not that most would find the undulating greens and rumbled fairways anything but challenging.    

So who’s tipped to take the title this year? Naturally Luke Donald, world number one and last years’ winner is a hot favourite to do the double this year with decent current form. Bookies give him 7-1 odds.

Padraig Harrington is second favourite with 14 – 1 odd’s , despite being ranked a relatively low 60^th in the world, he has the best combined performance in this year’s first two majors of any golfer and has found form in recent months. He is also something of a links specialist with two Open wins under his name.

A perhaps less known contender is Nicolas Colsaerts who’s recent form has made him a man to watch this Open, in fact his recent performance has arguably been the best in Europe with more European tour top 10 finishes this season than anyone else. His odd’s stand at 20 -1.

Also watch out for Ross Fisher (20-1), Francesco Molinari (20-1) and Paul Lawrie (25-1) who are all looking good in the run up to the competition.

Whoever wins the Scottish Open this year, it will no doubt be a very entertaining lead up to The Open and much more than the training round it used to be.

Back in Northern Ireland for the first time since 1953, this year’s Irish Open at Royal Portrush has all the markings of a historic sporting event. Sell out crowd? Check, all weekend days have sold out (for the first time in the history of the European tour) with a crowd of around 100,000 expected to descend on course. Major players? Check, the Irish legends are present, Darren Clarke, Rory McIlroy, Padraig Harrington and Graeme McDowell will all be present and eager to lift the title in what can be described as their ‘home’ course.

The event takes place on the beautiful sprawling northern Irish coat of North Antrim, with the picturesque backdrop of the Dunluce castle ruins to be admired in the backdrop, not that they’ll have much chance to admire the view if the hopeful pros want to stand any chance of taking the title from defending champion Simon Dyson.

The Course

The Dunluce links course at The Royal Portrush Golf Club, which prides itself on being the only club in Ireland to have hosted the Open Championship and has recently been rated the 12th best course in the world.

The twisting, elevating 7143 yard course offers a quite the challenge to this year’s hopefuls with dense and numerous rough surrounding the finely kept greens. Official, this is a pair 72 course but with storm weather warnings by the met office and high wind speeds throughout the weekend anything could happen.

Watch out for the 14th hole, a long par 3 which despite being bunker free, features a massive ravine which could go on to haunt the pro’s for years to come.

The Contenders

So who’s tipped to win this year’s Irish Open? Well Rory’s the bookies favourite, with 7-1 odd’s, which might at first seem a little generous given his recent form, failing to make the cut in the last 4 out of 5 starts that is until you remember who holds the record on this very course of just 61, yep that was the early Rory McIlroy at just 16

Second favourite is fellow Northern Irishman Graeme McDowell who is yet to win the Irish Open, but arrives this year in great form off the back of a T2 finish at the U.S Open.

Other top candidates include 2007 winner Padraig Harrington who also arrives in good form, following a 4th place finish at the U.S Open with odds of 11-1, Ross Fisher at 18-1 and Nicolas Collaret at 22-1.

Our favorite Irish Darren Clarke, due to a recent dip in performance is tipped at 55-1, but a recent rest due to a groin injury puts Darren in good stead to find form in his home county.

Check out our Irish Open page for more information and updates!

Ultimately though, it was the relatively unknown Webb Simpson taking the leader trophy this year with a consistent and respectable performance just clinching him the lead ahead of runners up past Open winner Graeme McDowell and Michael Thompson who both trailed by a single point.

Webb waiting anxiously whilst it looked as Graeme McDowell or Michael Thompson would take the title, but a mishit putt on the 17^th for the latter and an inconsistent performance from McDowell put the £917,000 in to the hands of the somewhat fortunate Simpson.

Simpson scored a fantastic 68-68 in his last two rounds to win his first major championship, which will surely put his name on the map for majors to come.

Some of the big names weren’t quite so fortunate, with Tiger Woods posting his second worst ever US Open finish at joint 22^nd and Rory McIlroy not even making the cut.

Still nothing can take away from Webb’s win, which even he couldn’t predict, he said “”I never really wrapped my mind around the idea of winning,” he said afterwards. “This place is so demanding, and so all I was really concerned about was keeping the ball in front of me and making pars.”

But then this is golf, anything can happen!

Fellow Irishman, former champion and all-round golfing legend Graeme McDowell described him as the best player he’d ever seen – praise indeed.

The Course

So, what do we have in store for the 112^th U.S Open? For starters, the championship will be played at the prestigious Olympic Club, the oldest athletic club in the US.

New to the course this year is a frankly ridiculous 670-yard fairway for the 16^th hole, the largest in the history of U.S Open which will certainly make for comical viewing and sweaty palms for those unfortunate enough to play it.

Another change is the addition of a fairway bunker in the usual layup area of the 17^th hole, so expect to see bent shafts and broken dreams on the penultimate hole.

Smaller and less cruel changes include a change for the first hole from a par 5 to a par 4, offering some slight relief from that punishing final few holes.

The Favourites

The big question this year is who will take home the trophy? Well let’s first look at who won’t.

According to the bookies, those least likely to walk away a champion are, among others Kelly Kraft (959-1), Michael Campbell (619-1) and Paul Lawrie (250-1). Our favorite Irishman and all-round golfing legend Darren Clarke has had to pull out of the event with a groin injury, instead preferring to rest up for the upcoming Irish Open (link) in his home country.

Bookies and perhaps the peoples favorite to win is Rory McIlroy (9-1) who’s had a somewhat hit and miss performance of late, first chucking his club, then missing the cut at the BMW PGA Championship to become world no.2, still a poor run up to last year’s U.S Open didn’t do him any harm did it?

Other favorites include current world number one Luke Donald (12-1), three time U.S Open winner Tigers Woods (12-1) and Lee Westwood (14-1).

We’ll be bringing you the latest coverage and updates right here at stuburt.com

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