McIlroy Beats Kim in Playoff to Win Shanghai Masters


Though he began the final round with a three-stroke lead, Rory McIlroy had to work extra hard to win the Shanghai Masters. The reigning U.S. Open champion from Northern Ireland closed with a 72 to fall into a tie with Kim, who had a 69, at 18-under 270.

McIlroy could have won in regulation but missed an eight-foot birdie try on the 72nd hole. On the first playoff hole, a par-3, both players found bunkers off the tee but executed nice escape shots. After Kim missed his three-foot par attempt, McIlroy made his two-footer to secure the win and a $2 million payday, the richest prize in golf.

The win was McIlroy's first since the U.S. Open at Congressional. He was relieved to pull off his latest title. "It's something that I feel like I can still get better at is winning and putting yourself in the position to win when you're not playing your best," he said.

"Even if it's scrappy golf where you grind it out, you're going to win a lot more tournaments by doing that rather than playing your best golf the whole week. I was very happy I was able to pull this one out."

"It was an exciting final day and a tough finish for me personally," said Kim, who took home $750,000. "We had a lot fun out there today."

American Hunter Mahan (70) and South Korea's Noh Seung-yul (73) finished in a tie for third at 13-under. No. 2-ranked Lee Westwood had the shot of the day, a hole-in-one on the 12th. He finished with a 67 to end up in fifth at 12-under.

With only a 30-player field, the invitation-only tournament, which isn't sanctioned by any of the major tours, was held at Lake Malaren's Jack Nicklaus-designed Masters course. Many of the players will be staying in China for this week's World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions at nearby Sheshan International.

For all the scores, visit http://www.shanghaimasters.com.cn/en/Live.asp.