On Sunday, Rory McIlroy became the sixth golfer in history to win all four major tournaments and was the first one to accomplish that in 25 years, since Tiger Woods in 2000. It definitely wasn’t easy. McIlroy won in a playoff over Englishman, Justin Rose, who shot a final round of 66 to force the playoff. Going into the final round, I thought that the championship was going to be between either McIlroy or Bryson Dechambeau, who were in the final group together, but it turned out to be Rose who pushed McIlroy to the limit.
The final round itself was quite wild from the beginning. Rory had a two shot lead over Bryson to start the round, but he made a double bogie on the first hole so they were tied, and then the Bryson made a birdie on the second hole, which gave him a one shot lead. Bryson then proceeded to fall apart, and McIlroy looked like he was going to win the tournament easily. Then Rose played very well for the last 10 holes. McIlroy seemed to lose his way on the 13th hole when he hit in the water and made double bogie. He then came back on the 15th hole and almost made an eagle on the par 5. Unquestionably, McIlroy was dealing with a lot of pressure. He hadn't won a major in 11 years, all while trying to complete the career Grand Slam. Rory missed a short par putt on the last hole and dropped into a tie with Rose, but in the end he had a great second shot on the first playoff hole and earned a birdie 3 to win, followed by a very emotional celebration for an amazing accomplishment.
The NFL draft starts next Thursday in Green Bay. As usual, the first pick is expected to be a quarterback by the Tennessee Titans. Everybody is 99% sure it’s going be Cam Ward from the University of Miami. There’s going to be a lot of pressure on him to prove his worth since the Miami Hurricanes were not very successful in terms of wins when he was their quarterback. He’s being drafted this high because of his potential.
Since the Eagles won the Super Bowl, they’ll be drafting at number 32. I think their first round pick is going to be an offensive lineman to replace Lane Johnson when he retires in the next two years. And then I hope they focus on adding to the defense for the rest of the draft because of all the defensive players they lost to free agency in the off-season.
The Phillies just completed a series split with the San Francisco Giants and are now 11-8 on the season, which ironically was their same record on this date last year. The team sits in second place, a half game behind the Mets. The Miami Marlins come to town tomorrow.
It's going to be very important that the Phillies win the division this year because the western division is really strong. The Padres, the Dodgers, the Giants and even the Diamondbacks are all off to a great start. They all have a better record than the Phillies as of today.
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A 2002 Cape grad and 2007 UD grad, Lewes resident Sumner Spence is one of the Cape area's biggest sports fans. Although he’s used a wheelchair his entire life, he has lived vicariously through his sports-playing father, brother, and friends, who gave him his love of sports. He hopes to provide new and interesting perspectives on the sports stories and issues of the day. Email Sumner at sumspence@gmail.com.
