Rory McIlroy’s audacious shaped sand wedge on day one of the Irish Open presented by Discover Ireland has claimed July’s Shot of the Month award. The Northern Irishman becomes the first player to record consecutive European Tour Shot of the Month wins since Swede Alex Noren in 2010.
Approaching the par four 14th green at Killarney Golf and Fishing Club, McIlroy found himself in considerable rough, 125 yards out, with his path to the putting surface obscured by a tree.
In what was a moment that exemplified the genius of McIlroy’s ball-striking and aggressive mentality, the Holywood man hooked his sand wedge 50 yards around the tree, landing the spectacular approach just 12 feet from the hole.
McIlroy was modest in his own assessment of the shot, saying: “To be honest all I was trying to do was to get it in the front bunker,” before adding, “But I caught it really nicely and it was definitely one of the best shots I've ever hit.
“I had 125 yards to the front and 30 to the pin and had to hit it, must have been a 40 or 50 yard hook with a sand wedge and luckily enough just got over the bunker. It would have been great to make three there but I would have taken a four from where I saw my ball after the tee shot.”
The shot was recognised by fans on My European Tour as the finest seen last month, taking the honours after polling two-thirds of the public vote.
The previous month, McIlroy scooped June’s award for his magnificent tee shot on the par three tenth at Congressional, en route to sealing his maiden major victory in the 2011 US Open.
Darren Clarke’s 18 foot putt for eagle in the final round of The Open Championship came in second place, taking a quarter of the vote, while the aforementioned Alex Noren’s incredible five iron to the 592 yard par 5 ninth in the Nordea Masters came in third.
One lucky winner who selected McIlroy’s shot in the My European Tour section of europeantour.com won an on-course navigation device, the GPS GolfBuddy World.
The winners of each Shot of the Month will be put forward for The European Tour Shot of the Year, won last season by Graeme McDowell for his unforgettable birdie putt on the 16th green of The Celtic Manor Resort which helped Europe regain The Ryder Cup.
McIlroy joins the other monthly winners so far – Paul Casey (January), Alvaro Quiros (February), David Horsey (March), Matteo Manassero (April), Luke Donald (May), and of course himself (June).
