PGA Championship 2012 Standings: Day 4 Highlights, Winner and Twitter Reaction

Rory McIlroy won the 94th PGA Championship in a way befitting of his season. He started off great, suddenly became terrible, and just as suddenly was great again for a dynamic ending.

He finished at 13 under after firing rounds of 67, 75, 67 and 66. This was enough to give him a convincing eight-shot win over second-place finisher David Lynn.

The 8-stroke win is a new PGA Championship record, matches his victory margin at the U.S. Open, as the Associated Press points out, makes him just the fourth ever player to win two majors by at least eight shots, and he is now the youngest golfer to win two majors since Seve Ballesteros

Here is the made birdie putt on the 18th that sealed the deal. 

Rory's Sunday Charge

After the storm clouds of doom forced third-round action to be concluded on Sunday, Rory ran away with this one. 

He started off early Sunday with nine holes to play to finish up his third round and tied for the lead at six-under for the tournament and four-under for the round.

He struggled with his putter early Sunday by missing three makeable putts to fall to five-under for the tournament 13 holes into his third round.

Never fear for Rory; he quickly rediscovered his groove as he finished his Sunday third-round nine at one under, which left him at seven-under for the tournament—good for a three-shot lead entering the final round. 

It was smooth sailing from there. McIlroy went two under on the opening three holes of his final 18, and the final round quickly dissolved into a victory lap for golf's, as Golf Digest points out, newest No. 1.

"

Keep in mind: If Rory wins the PGA, he'll once again become the world's top-ranked golfer. #PGAChamp

— Golf Digest (@GolfDigestMag) August 12, 2012"

Ian Poulter made a nice run up the leaderboard, as he birdied six of his first seven final-round holes, but he limped to the finish and ended his final round three under, which left him four under for the tournament.  

Like any great major championship, Rory made sure this one had a signature moment. ESPN's Trey Wingo points this out. 

"

barring an Adam Scott like collapse, will making par out of the tree Saturday be the defining moment of Rory's PGA title?

— trey wingo (@wingoz) August 12, 2012"

Wingo's not exactly going out on a limb (pun intended?) here. When you make a par after the below happens, it is going to be tough to top. 

In the end, this is not just a major victory, but a giant statement for the 23-year-old as he claimed his second-career major, and that, as the PGA tweets, puts him slightly ahead of Tiger's major pace.

"

Rory McIlroy is 23 years, 3 months old. When Tiger Woods won his 2nd major ('99 PGA), he was 23 years, 7 months old. (via @jrayespngolf)

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 12, 2012"

If Rory is going to maintain Tiger's pace, he will have to have an historic 2013. Tiger won three majors in 2000, the year following his second major.

Also, at this stage of the career, both of these guys are behind Jack Nicklaus' pace. The Golden Bear won the PGA as 23-year-old to claim his third major. He did not win one the following season. 

Checking In on Other Notable Golfers

Speaking of Tiger, he just couldn't ever get it cooking after entering the third round tied for the lead. He did come back a much better golfer than the one that hacked his way around the course before weather stopped his third round, but still finished the third with a two-over 74, and couldn't make any noise in the final round with an even-par 72. 

This concludes the fourth-straight season for Tiger without a major. He performed well in them this year, but in complete anti-Tiger fashion, he struggled under the pressure of the weekend. The radio voice for the Utah Jazz, and obviously a golf enthusiast, David Locke points this out. 

"

Wow Tiger Woods never went under par on a weekend in a major this year .Just another golfer, darn good one but just one of the bunch

— David Locke (@Lockedonsports) August 12, 2012"

This has to be a bitter end to golf's major season that saw Tiger make some major strides towards returning to his elite form, and while he had a wildly more successful tournament than Rickie Fowler, it sounds like Fowler had a more enjoyable Sunday.  

"

Just finished a spin on the bike & watching the PGA Champ...good to see some of the boys playing well...not that easy out there #missedcut

— Rickie Fowler (@RickieFowlerPGA) August 12, 2012"

Meanwhile, lost in all of this is the fact that defending champion Keegan Bradley had a tremendous tournament—although it wasn't lost on golf blogger Kieran Clark.

"

A wonderful PGA defence for Keegan Bradley. He is in a tie for 4th. A fantastic competitor, with a great attitude and a huge future.

— Kieran Clark (@OnParWithGolf) August 12, 2012"

Bradley ended up tied for third, which you can see in the full leaderboard here.

This was an entertaining tournament that had a little of everything, and with Rory's impressive performance gives instant storylines to next major season.

Can Rory keep pace with the greatest legends of the game? He has his work cut out for him, but I certainly am not going to rush to bet against him.