Open Championship blog: magnificent McIlroy

Golf Monthly editor-at-large Bill Elliott gives on Rory McIlroy's outstanding Open Championship victory at Royal Liverpool Golf Club at Hoylake

Bill Elliott
Bill Elliott with his media centre band signed by Open Championship winner Rory McIlroy

Golf Monthly editor-at-large Bill Elliott gives on Rory McIlroy's outstanding Open Championship victory at Royal Liverpool Golf Club at Hoylake

SO he did it. Not sprinting away, not quite cantering towards glory but safely enough.

Rory McIlroy is many things. He is as honest as a young man under constant scrutiny can be; he is a decent guy; he respects his parents and most other people; he is probably the rightful heir to most of the world that Tiger Woods seems to have relinquished. At least for now.

Going into the final round of The Open might seem to make this contrary, old game easy-peasy but in reality it never is like that and as Sergio Garcia and Rickie Fowler offered opposition on Royal Liverpool's grand jousting field, McIlroy had to knuckle down and graft as he tried to shore up a barricade that at one midway point seemed to be crumbling like the sand bordering the Dee Estuary here on The Wirral.

That he succeeded says much about his nerve as well as his game. That Fowler and Garcia made him sweat at least a little says much about their own ambition. That they are all hovering around the 5ft 9ins mark comes as a relief to those of us who argued that golf was not solely a game for tall, finely honed athletes.

I'll think more about all this for the magazine but for now congratulations to Northern Ireland's finest sportsman since Georgie Best and the same good wishes to Royal Liverpool and the people of the North West of England. Together they made this a wonderful week, a terrific course and a great sporting crowd. Toodlepip.

Nick Bonfield
Content Editor

Nick Bonfield joined Golf Monthly in 2012 after graduating from Exeter University and earning an NCTJ-accredited journalism diploma from News Associates in Wimbledon. He is responsible for managing production of the magazine, sub-editing, commissioning and feature writing. Most of his online work is opinion-based and typically centres around the Majors and significant events in the global golfing calendar. Nick has been an avid golf fan since the age of ten and became obsessed with the professional game after watching Mike Weir and Shaun Micheel win The Masters and PGA Championship respectively in 2003. In his time with Golf Monthly, he's interviewed the likes of Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose, Jose Maria Olazabal, Henrik Stenson, Padraig Harrington, Lee Westwood and Billy Horschel and has ghost-written columns for Westwood, Wayne Riley, Matthew Southgate, Chris Wood and Eddie Pepperell. Nick is a 12-handicap golfer and his favourite courses include Old Head, Sunningdale New, Penha Longha, Valderrama and Bearwood Lakes. If you have a feature pitch for Nick, please email nick.bonfield@futurenet.com with 'Pitch' in the subject line. Nick is currently playing: Driver: TaylorMade M1 Fairway wood: TaylorMade RBZ Stage 2 Hybrid: Ping Crossover Irons (4-9): Nike Vapor Speed Wedges: Cleveland CBX Full Face, 56˚, Titleist Vokey SM4, 60˚ Putter: testing in progress! Ball: TaylorMade TP5x