Graeme Storm recalls ‘surreal’ US PGA adventure after battle with Rory McIlroy

There are not many players who can boast about beating Rory McIlroy in a play-off and leading a major championship, but Graeme Storm is a proud member of that exclusive club.

The victory over McIlroy came on the third extra hole in the 2017 South African Open in Johannesburg, 83 days after Storm had lost his European Tour card by just 100 euros.

It was the Hartlepool professional’s second victory on the circuit, his first coming in the 2007 French Open and he ultimately secured his US PGA Championship debut at Southern Hills six weeks later.

As temperatures reached triple figures in Tulsa, Storm started his opening round on the back nine with consecutive birdies and picked up further shots on the 13th and 16th to reach the turn in four under.

The former Amateur Championship winner could only find one birdie on the front nine, but a bogey-free 65 gave him a two-shot lead over two-time major winner John Daly, with defending champion Tiger Woods carding a 71.

“It was 102 degrees and about 80 per cent humidity and it was like being in Malaysia, but hotter,” Storm told the PA news agency. “I think I played eight weeks in a row so I was kind of struggling.

“After I played the Open I shouldn’t have played the Deutsche Bank but it was a big event and I felt I was still in good form and wanted to keep playing until I ran out of gas, and I probably ran out of gas at Firestone.

“So to be top of the leaderboard after the first round of the US PGA the following week was kind of a little bit, ‘How did that happen?’

“The golf course suited me. You didn’t have to hit it a long way, it was quite tight. I played pretty well that day but that’s when it all hit home because I had to do all the press.

“I was getting asked questions about