Rory McIlroy: Young Star Cements Status as World's Greatest Golfer with PGA Win

Rory McIlroy ended any doubts about his status atop the golfing world with his resounding win at the 2012 PGA Championship.

The 23-year-old captured his second major in record fashion, dominating the entirety of the star-studded field and winning at Kiawah Island by eight strokes. McIlroy shot a 13-under-par on his way to hoisting his first Wanamaker Trophy.

The next closest competitor was David Lynn, an unheralded 38-year-old Brit, who managed to put together a five-under. 

Rory became the sixth-youngest golfer to win a second major, following in the footsteps of Young Tom Morris, John McDermott, Gene Sarazen, Jack Nicklaus and Seve Ballesteros.

All of those men were superstars in their day, and McIlroy has proved he deserves that respect and attention as well. The young man is simply the best in the game right now and has now had back-to-back seasons with a major victory.

In 2011, the Northern Irish wunderkind put together his first eight-stroke win at the U.S. Open and had high expectations hoisted upon his shoulders. He struggled to place inside the Top-25 of a major tournament after that, but salvaged his 2012 season in incredible fashion with his win at Kiawah Island in South Carolina.

There is no other player in the game right now that has the skills that Rory has shown capable of displaying.

He’s got the grit and determination to grind out victories and never let off the gas. That is something Tiger Woods seems to have lost since the scandal broke and his major drought began.

McIlroy isn’t going to have another chance at glory in one of the big four tournaments until April, but he’s definitely going to be considered the favorite when the 2013 Masters roll around.

Rory McIlroy proved, beyond reasonable doubt, that he’s the player to beat and the true king of his golfing realm.