Rory McIlroy wins US PGA Championship by eight shots

Rory McIlroy

Rory McIlroy won his second major with a brilliant eight-shot victory in the US PGA Championship at Kiawah Island.

The Northern Irishman, 23, hit a six-under 66 to finish 13 under and return to world number one, while unheralded Englishman David Lynn (68) was second.

Ian Poulter (69) faltered on the back nine to finish third on four under with Justin Rose, defending champion Keegan Bradley and Sweden's Carl Pettersson.

Four-time winner Tiger Woods stuttered to a level-par 72 and two-under total.

By contrast, McIlroy mastered the Ocean Course, even posting a second-round 75 when many of his peers were bullied by Kiawah Island at its wildest.

He became the youngest winner of the tournament since it adopted strokeplay in 1958, while his eight-shot victory was also a new PGA Championship record, beating the previous biggest winning margin set by Jack Nicklaus 32 years ago.

"I don't think I have let it sink in yet - I am speechless," said McIlroy, the first Briton to claim the US PGA title since Jim Barnes won the first two tournaments in 1916 and 1919 when it was a matchplay event.

McIlroy is also the youngest player to win two majors since Spain's Seve Ballesteros achieved the feat in 1980.

"It was a great round of golf," he added. "The gameplan was just to play solid. I got off to a bit of a shaky start, but settled into it and I thought my putting today was phenomenal.

"Thanks dad and thanks mum - I'm sure she's watching at home. I had a good feeling at the start, but I never imagined doing this.

"It means an awful lot to look at the names on that trophy and put mine alongside them."

Lynn's second-place finish moves him to 16th on the European money list, with an outside chance of making Europe's Ryder Cup team.

"I got myself into the zone on Saturday and I was feeling comfortable on Sunday - it is all a bit surreal at the moment," said the 38-year-old Stoke-based player, who finished 53rd in only previous appearance in a major, the 2003 Open.

McIlroy's final day began earlier than scheduled as a result of Saturday's rain which brought a halt to several third rounds.

Having sunk five birdies on the front nine the previous day, the man from Holywood added two more on the 15th and 16th to start the final round on seven under, a three-shot lead over second-placed Pettersson.

Swede Pettersson's hopes of a maiden major suffered a huge blow on the first hole when he was handed a two-shot penalty "for moving a loose impediment in a hazard", when a leaf moved.

Despite the setback, Pettersson holed four birdies en route to four under for the tournament - his best major finish.

McIlroy suffered no such ill fortune; he was the only one of the top six not to drop a shot during his final round.

When he did find himself in a little bit of trouble - under the trees on the second, and in some rough on the 10th - he produced two standard recovery shots. But, as blips go, they were very minor.

His biggest challenge came from England's Poulter. The Hertfordshire golfer, who was outside the automatic Ryder Cup places going into the tournament, remarkably holed five successive birdies and six in the first seven holes to close the gap to McIlroy to two.

However, Poulter's charge was halted on the back nine by three successive bogeys from the 13th which effectively ended his major bid for another year.

World number two Woods began the day five shots off the lead but his round never got going, the tone set with relatively easy missed birdie and eagle opportunities on the first and second holes.

The 36-year-old, who opened with a three-under 69, completed his tournament with a 72.

Minutes later, McIlroy, who won the 2011 US Open by seven shots, knocked in a 25-foot putt on the 18th to seal victory with a sixth birdie of the round.

It was also the last tournament for the United States players to force their way into automatic selection for the Ryder Cup - and Bo Van Pelt's failure to finish second - he finished tied for 18th - ensured Phil Mickelson held on to the eighth and last automatic place.

Mickelson will join Woods, Jason Dufner, Bubba Watson, Keegan Bradley, Webb Simpson, Zach Johnson and Matt Kuchar in the US team, with captain Davis Love III to name his four captain's picks on 4 September.