Magic Rory McIlroy’s day to remember in Canadian Open win

McIlroy blitzed the field for a 22-under-par tally that broke the tournament record by five shots towards his 16th career PGA Tour title.

A birdie at the 18th would have given the Northern Irishman a round of 59 but he bogeyed the last after finding a bunker on his approach to the green.

His win in Ontario is the perfect preparation for the US Open, the third major of the year, which begins on Thursday.

“I just got it going out of the gates, I said at the start of the day I wanted to be aggressive,” McIlroy told Sky Sports. “I played with so much freedom over the weekend, more freedom than I’ve had for a while, which is exciting. To get a win going into next week is huge.”

McIlroy, who hit nine birdies, an eagle and two bogeys, finished ahead of Webb Simpson, who chipped in on the 18th to tie with Ireland’s Shane Lowry on 15 under par.

McIlroy’s countryman Graeme McDowell secured his spot at the Open Championship in Portrush after finishing in a tie for eighth.

He needed to finish in the top 10 and drained his monster par putt at the 18th to do just that, finishing alongside Danny Willett and Henrik Stenson on 10 under par.

“There has been a very interesting debate on social media as to whether I should get special treatment from the Open and once I realised that was not going to happen it was a case of getting my head down and playing some golf,” McDowell told Sky Sports. “I knew there was a few tournaments coming up that could get me qualified and that I had to play well at one, but I have to say it was really nice to get the job done at the first one.

“It means now I can enjoy my golf for the next few weeks and get ready for the Open at Royal Portrush.

“It’s my home town so I am delighted to be in the field.

“It’s actually harder than winning a golf tournament when you are chasing a score for you to qualify for the Open.”