Rory McIlroy battling with Rickie Fowler on the final day of a major is a bit of a throwback to 2014.
That remains the Northern Irishman's most productive year in terms of majors, picking up the Open and the US PGA Championship. Fowler did all he could to deny McIlroy though, finishing second to him in the Open and running him close in the US PGA.
This Sunday at the Los Angeles Country Club it will be roles reversed as McIlroy attempts to end a nine-year wait and overcome his American opponent in the final round of the US Open. The pair have previously jousted late on in tournaments and Fowler's antics at Valhalla proved decisive nine years ago.
McIlroy went into the day as the leader of the US PGA, then found himself trailing Fowler and Phil Mickelson, before powering back through to claim victory with Fowler eventually finishing third. It was an exchange between the two Americans however that got McIlroy pumped. By his own admission, it annoyed him.
What the f*** are you doing?
Golf is one of the sport's great solo exercises. Bar your caddie, you're out on your own, often walking around with your direct competitor and having to watch their every shot. Fowler and Mickelson were able to put their competitiveness to one side, fist-bumping as they went round.
That didn't sit well with the Northern Irishman, who got the motivation he needed to finish the job after seeing his two rivals "act as if they were in the Ryder Cup".
He told the Irish Independent : “I mean I would class Rickie as one of my closest friends on Tour, but this is the final round of a major, and the boys are getting closer to me, and I’ve gone from having a one-shot lead to being tied or one behind.
"It’s not a time to be talking about golf courses you’ve played or … well, for me anyway.
"I’m in my own space, and I want my own thoughts, and Rickie and Phil doing their old fist-bumping thing gave me a bit more of an edge. I was almost too pumped up in a way, but it worked in my favour on the back nine.”
McIlroy continued: “I was over par on the front nine and struggling a bit and I see the two boys ahead chipping in and holing putts.
"And I saw them fist-pump coming off one of the greens and remember thinking: ‘What the f— are they doing? This is a major championship! You’re trying to beat each other! This isn’t the Ryder Cup here!’ And it did, it annoyed me. I thought: ‘I’m going to beat these two.’ And that’s sort of what turned it for me.”
Redemption nine years on
That success in Louisville, Kentucky has not been matched by McIlroy despite several near misses. He's finished in the top ten 18 times since their 2014 victory, with his closest effort perhaps coming at St Andrew's last summer, when he missed out on the Claret Jug as Cameron Smith took the spoils.
He was loosely in contention going into the final day of the US PGA recently, but never got himself into the battle on Sunday. This time round though, with a second US Open in his sights, he is just one shot back and hopeful of completing the job.
McIlroy said: "I feel pretty good. The golf course definitely got a little trickier than the first couple of days. I felt like I played smart solid golf. It felt somewhat stress-free, if you can ever call golf at a US Open stress-free, but overall I'm pretty pleased. I feel like I'm in a good spot.
"I'm going out there to try to execute a game plan. I feel like the past three days I've done that really well. I just need to do that for one more day."
