Rory McIlroy showed exactly why he is considered golf's next big thing - blowing away the field at the PGA Championship to win by a record-breaking margin.
McIlroy shot a 6-under 66 in the final round, to finish 13-under for the tournament, a massive eight shots ahead of second-placed David Lynn at Kiawah Island, in the process breaking the mark set by Jack Nicklaus in 1980.
McIlroy, who returned to the No 1 position in the ranking with the win, also became the youngest person to win two majors since Seve Ballesteros; Tiger Woods was four months older than the Northern Irishman when he won his second major.
Woods, who was the co-leader after two rounds, was never in the hunt, throwing away his chances Saturday, closing with a final round of 72 to finish tied for eleventh, at 2-under 286.
"It was a great round of golf. I'm speechless," McIlroy said. "It's just been incredible. I had a good feeling about it at the start. I never imagined to do this."
McIlroy's performance was reminiscent of the kind of dominance shown by Woods, but the Northern Irishman said he wanted to stay away from the comparisons and just continue playing good golf. "I don't know (what to make of the comparisons)," he said. "I mean, I've won my second major at the same age. But he went on that incredible run like 2000, 2001, 2002 and won so many.
"I'd love to sit up here and tell you that I'm going to do the same thing, but I just don't know. It's been great to win my first major last year and to back that up with another one this year. I can't ask for any more.
"I just want to keep working hard, keep practicing and hopefully there's a few more of these in my closet when my career finishes."
With the win, McIlroy silenced his critics after several questions were raised after he missed three cuts in four starts back in May and June.
"I don't think I could have answered it in any better way," McIlroy said. "And yeah, to be honest, it did motivate me. I did want to go out there and prove a few people wrong. That's what I did. It took me all of four weeks to get my game back in shape and get out of my mini-slump, and this is the result."
"We all know the talent he has," Woods added. "He went through a little spell this year, and I think that was good for him.
"We all go through those spells in our careers, and you know, he's got all the talent in the world to do what he's doing. And this is the way that Rory can play. When he gets it going, it's pretty impressive to watch."
Justin Rose finished tied for third along with Keegan Bradley, Ian Poulter and Carl Pettersson.
