Rory McIlroy tearful after Sunday singles win

PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico — Russell Knox shot a 6-under 65 on Thursday at breezy and wet El Camaleon Golf Club to take the first-round lead in the PGA TOUR’s Mayakoba Golf Classic presented by UNIFIN. RELATED: Leaderboard | Niemann playing with extra motivation The 35-year-old Scot birdied five of the last six holes on his opening nine, then played the final nine in 1 under with a bogey on the par-4 second and birdies on the par-5 fifth and par-4 sixth. "Took me a few holes to kind of settle into my round, but when I did, I had six or seven very good holes," Knox said. "I hit the ball well, drove it in the fairway, and with lift, clean and place, I could be fairly aggressive. Par was good today." Chile's Joaquin Niemann was a stroke back with Argentina's Emiliano Grillo and American Tom Hoge. Niemann is donating his entire prize money and $5,000 for every birdie and $10,000 for an eagle to help pay for a drug for his 2-month-old relative in Chile. "I'm playing for Rafita, that is one of my cousins that was diagnosed a couple days ago with a really rare disease," the 22-year-old Niemann said. "All the guys here on tour are being really nice, using the little ribbons we're having to support Rafita. He's fighting now in Chile, so we've got to work our way to help him." Niemann also finished on the front nine, making birdies on Nos. 3, 5, 6 and 7. "It was tough," Niemann said. "It was hard to adjust myself into the wind early, but I'm really happy the way I played. Took me a couple holes to like figure it out a little bit with the wind. I'm really happy the way I played and the way I finished." Knox has two victories on the PGA TOUR. He lost in a playoff at Mayakoba in 2016. "I guess it's the tequila and tacos," Knox said. "Obviously, I love the course. It sets up well for me. I mean, historically, my driving accuracy and iron play's been my strength, so that's kind of the key things that this course brings out in you." He liked the wind better than the rain-softened turf. "I always kind of want it to be a little windy," Knox said. "I feel like I can flight my ball well at times. But it's so soft out here, it's the opposite of like links golf. No, I'm thrilled with that and look forward to trying again tomorrow." Carlos Ortiz, the Mexican star playing for the first time as a PGA TOUR winner, was two strokes back at 67. He won the Vivint Houston Open a week before the Masters and did not play at Sea Island. "When I made like a 60-footer for eagle on 5, I knew it was going to be a pretty good day," Ortiz said. "I was in control of my game. It's one of those where you hit a good drive, it kind of sits down in the fairway and you feel like you're going to get a flyer and it's going to come out soft, but I'm really happy the way I played." Defending champion Brendon Todd also was at 67 with Tony Finau, Viktor Hovland, Aaron Wise, Nate Lashley, Akshay Bhatia and Michael Gligic. Former U.S. Amateur champion Andy Ogletree, the low amateur at the Masters, had a 69 in his pro debut. Ryder Cup captain Steve Stricker also shot 69. Rickie Fowler had a wild round of 70 with eight birdies and quadruple and double bogeys. He played the final six holes in 4 under to get under par. "This has to be the lowest I've shot with a quad," Fowler said. "That doesn't happen a whole lot." Four-time major champion Brooks Koepka had a 71. Justin Thomas shot 72. At No. 3, he’s the only player from the top 10 in the world in the field.

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DUBLIN, Ohio (AP) — Billy Horschel ended any doubt about his victory at Muirfield Village with an eagle putt from one end of the green to the other on the 15th hole, sending him to a four-shot victory Sunday at the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday. Horschel was staked to a five-shot lead at the start of a sun-soaked final round and no one ever got closer than two shots. He closed with an even-par 72. Horschel moved to No. 10 in the FedExCup standings after earning a whopping 550 points. There still a few nervous moments. Horschel’s streak of 49 consecutive holes without a bogey ended on the sixth hole. He didn’t make his first birdie until the 10th hole. He had to scramble for bogey on the par-3 12th that dropped his lead to two over Aaron Wise. Before the long eagle, Horschel saved himself with par putts of 12 feet on the 13th hole and 8 feet on 14. And then it was over. From the front of the green on the par-5 15th, Horschel’s putt from just inside 55 feet had the perfect line and perfect speed, bending left and dropping in the left side of the cup as he stretched out both arms in a quiet, disbelieving celebration. “Just like you, big man,” Horschel said to tournament host Jack Nicklaus when it was over. His lead was up to four shots, and it was a comfortable finish. Horschel finished at 13-under 275 and won $2.16 million, the largest paycheck of his career. As an elevated event, the win comes with a three-year PGA TOUR exemption. Horschel said he has learned from Tiger Woods and Nicklaus that he didn’t need to do anything special with a five-shot lead unless the moment called for it. It was calling on the 15th hole after Wise stuffed a wedge into 2 feet for birdie. “If I had to do something special, I was ready for it,” he said. “Making that was huge.” Wise did what he could in a final round so difficult that no one shot better than 69. He and Joaquin Niemann were the only players to apply any serious pressure on Horschel. He opened the back nine with a pair of birdies sand saved par from the back bunker on the 12th. But he dropped a shot on the 13th just as Horschel was looking shaky. Wise made a bogey on the final hole for a 71 to finish alone in second. Cameron Smith, who had the 36-hole lead, also started five shots behind. He had a pair of double bogeys for a 42 on the front nine and was never a factor. Niemann, who won another elevated event at Riviera in The Genesis Invitational, made a strong move and was creeping within range until his wedge on the 14th found a bunker, leading to double bogey. He answered with two birdies, finished with a double bogey and shot 71. He tied for third with defending champion Patrick Cantlay (71). Before the handshake with Nicklaus, Horschel was mobbed by his three children. He now has seven PGA TOUR victories. His wife has watched him win. His parents have seen him win. This was the first time his children were there, and they were bouncing on the firm greens. That might have been as great as any pressure as Horschel felt. “Having a five-shot lead, knowing it was mine to win, I really wanted to get the monkey off my back,” he said of winning with his kids in attendance. Horschel moves to just outside the top 10 in the world, the highest he has ever been, thanks to a year that finally has brought some consistency in a hit-and-miss game. He has three victories in the last 15 months, all of them against strong fields — the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play and the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth last year, and now this. It might even be enough to finally be considered for a U.S. team with the Presidents Cup later this year.

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MEDINAH, Ill. – FedExCup No. 12 Justin Rose was just outside the back of the majestic clubhouse at Medinah Country Club when he stopped and pointed.  “I think that was our team room,â€� he said. Graeme McDowell, 64th in the FedExCup, sat on the back patio and remembered taking his only singles loss in the Ryder Cup, to Zach Johnson, but going back out to cheer on his teammates.  “So mixed memories around here,â€� McDowell said.  And Rory McIlroy, FedExCup No. 3, joked about needing a police escort.  “Hopefully I won’t need it,â€� he said, “and we’re staying a little closer to the course this time.â€� RELATED: Featured Groups, tee times | Seven things to know about Medinah | Scenarios Tiger Woods won the 1999 and 2006 PGA Championships here, but fewer than half of the 69 players at the BMW Championship, week two of the FedExCup Playoffs, have played Medinah No. 3. Of those, perhaps only Woods has better memories than Rose, McDowell, McIlroy, Francesco Molinari and Ian Poulter. Those five were here the last time Medinah was on the world stage, as Europe won 8 ½ points (of 12) on the last day to win the 2012 Ryder Cup. And they did it with the silhouette of Seve Ballesteros, who had died the previous year, on their sleeves.   “That was a powerful feeling on Sunday,â€� said Rose, who is trying to become the first player to successfully defend his FedExCup title. “Like there was that eerie sort of feeling like we’re doing it for him, for sure.â€� Eight players in the BMW field were on the losing U.S. side – Matt Kuchar (FedExCup No. 4), Dustin Johnson (10), Webb Simpson (11), Brandt Snedeker (22), Woods (38), Phil Mickelson (46), Jim Furyk (48) and Keegan Bradley (66) – and for them, the memories are less special.  But not terrible. “That was still one of my favorite weeks on the golf course,â€� said a wistful Bradley, who went 3-0-0 with partner Mickelson before McIlroy cooled him off in the singles. It’s been nearly seven years, and while the Ryder echoes remain, good or bad mojo from 2012 may not translate into BMW Championship success or lack thereof. It’s a different tournament, with different stakes, chief among them a berth in next week’s TOUR Championship in Atlanta, where up for grabs will be unrivaled perks (access to pretty much any tournament you could ever want to play) and money (an unprecedented $15 million to the winner).  Still, the spotlight at the BMW shines brightest on those five Europeans. “I played a few holes out there (Tuesday),â€� McIlroy said. “The course is in great shape. A little different than the setup was at the Ryder Cup a few years ago. There’s a lot more rough, the fairways are probably a little narrower. But overall, yeah, it’s good to be back, and hopefully some of those good vibes that I have here can stay with me and I can produce some good golf.â€� McIlroy has put together his most consistent season, with 13 top-10 finishes in 17 starts. Two of those, at THE PLAYERS Championship and RBC Canadian Open, were victories. Now he’s back at a place where he went 3-2-0 in Europe’s winning effort in 2012. Should he win the FedExCup again (2016), he would be the only player other than Woods to win it twice.  Rose, who at 12th in the FedExCup is well-positioned for what would be a historic title defense, also went 3-2-0 in 2012, making putts of 12, 35 and 12 feet to beat Mickelson in a pivotal singles match. “I was just driving in (Monday) night,â€� Rose said. “I came in here for a dinner, and came in the side of 18 there. Definitely brought back those good memories.â€� At last year’s BMW outside Philadelphia, Rose lost a playoff to Bradley, but his 2-P2-T4 in his last three starts was good enough to win the FedExCup.  McDowell, whose victory at the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship in March broke a drought of over three years, has made it to the BMW Championship four times, but never advanced all the way to the TOUR Championship at East Lake. At 64th in the FedExCup coming into this week, he faces a monumental task to do so this time. Amid so much talk of the 2012 Europeans, the most dangerous player at the BMW may be a guy who didn’t play in that Ryder Cup, as he was just 17: Jon Rahm of Spain. But with 11 top-10 finishes in 18 starts this season, including four in his last four starts, the FedExCup No. 5 is coming to Medinah hotter than anyone this side of – well, Captain America Patrick Reed. If Rahm gets it done this week to go to East Lake as the No. 1 seed, rest assured it won’t be long before someone invokes the ghost of Seve again, and Europe’s miracle comeback in 2012.

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