If he wasn’t working for his own benefit, Rory McIlroy would have been rooting for Matteo Manassero on the final day.
In the 11 years since Manassero won the PGA Championship, he has endured a slump, ranking just 1,805th on the world and mini-tours.
He was a teenage superstar and the youngest player to ever compete in the Masters, but his form declined dramatically after attempts to increase the length of his stroke failed.
The Italian's subsequent resurgence culminated in March at the DP World Tour in South Africa, where Manassero was three shots ahead with 18 holes to play in Surrey, meaning he was just one shot away from the biggest win of his career.
McIlroy watched closely as Manassero shot an 18-under 63 in the third round. McIlroy and Billy Horschel were 15 shots back. The DP World Tour's flagship event once again shined.
“It’s unbelievable,” McIlroy said of Manassero. “I don’t think you can find a player on tour who’s not happy for him.
“Being a young talent and then losing and then going to the Tour of the Alps… you need to have that kind of character to do that.
“It's great to see performances like this. I played alongside him in Scotland in July, played alongside him last week in the final round and played alongside him again this week, which really impressed me. It's great to see performances like this. He's a really good guy, level-headed, and it's great to see him back in his element.”
McIlroy himself is highly motivated, though. Spectators watched the four-time major champion come within a whisker of glory at the Irish Open last weekend, and by his own admission, he was close for much of 2024.
“I haven’t won since May, but I’ve given myself a lot of chances,” he said. “I have a chance to win, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to win. I always like to be in this position, a few points behind, trying to get off to a fast start. Hopefully I can do that and put some pressure on early on.”
“I've had a lot of situations like that in my career. I've had setbacks but have usually recovered pretty well from them. Some setbacks are bigger than others, but you have to be resilient in this game. You have to understand and realize that you're going to lose a lot more than you win and you have to accept that and you have to live with that.
“I’ve definitely been on the receiving end this year but it’s great to be back in the group.
“The crowds were fantastic. I remember coming here as an 11 or 12-year-old to watch the World Match Play and following all my heroes at the time. Wentworth is a special place for me so I’m really happy to be able to give it another chance here.”
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Manassero birdied his final three holes and six of his final eight. “It was one of the best rounds I’ve ever played,” he said.
“I have a better appreciation for golf and being at the top of the leaderboard, but it's not that comfortable. It's not easy to compete at such a high level in tough conditions. It's not the ideal comfort zone, but that's what we strive for. That's what we try to achieve.”
Suddenly, next year's Ryder Cup in New York is a perfectly legitimate goal.
McIlroy tried to keep up with the leaders and fell into the water on his second shot on the 18th hole, but saved par. In the low score of the afternoon, McIlroy shot 66, one stroke ahead of Horschel. The top three players on the leaderboard are all past champions here. Matthew Baldwin is 14 under par after 54 holes, one stroke ahead of Triston Lawrence and Antoine Rozner.