Well, watch out. The dragon no longer slumbers. Two weeks removed from his win at the WGC-Cadillac Match Play at San Francisco’s TPC Harding Park, Rory McIlroy returned to one of his favorite tour tracks, Quail Hollow in Charlotte. The defending Open and PGA championships winner sprinted up the leaderboard on moving day with a course-record 61. On Sunday, he loped home for the win, seven shots ahead of nearest finishers Patrick Rodgers and Webb Simpson.

See what clubs McIlroy used to win.

On the same day that American Pharoah claimed a second leg of the horse racing Triple Crown, the Irish King reaffirmed his status as a thoroughbred and the man to beat at the upcoming U.S. Open at Chambers Bay.

Tiger writes letter to troubled teen

Photo from Golf Digest.

Tiger Woods gave the haters something to mull last week. Apprised of a young man’s attempt at suicide, brought on by teasing over his stuttering, the champion golfer penned a note of his own. In it, he recounted his own struggles with a speech impediment and some of the steps he took to overcome it. The young man revealed the letter to the world at large and described how overwhelmed he was that Woods would take time out of his schedule to bare his soul.

Jiménez Tribute to Chi Chi

It’s not a full-on Chi-Chi, but it’s certainly a tribute. As long as Miguel Ángel Jiménez keeps holing out from the tee, the fairway, wherever, he keeps tucking the club away in its sheath, a la the great Puerto Rican champion of the 1960s and 1970s. Miguel adds his own fire to the brief celebration by breaking out into a flamenco or salsa (or merengue) move that many mistake for a moonwalk (Anyone watch Dancing With The Stars?).

Fingers are crossed and toque madera that Jiménez keeps playing both tours well and keeps us entertained (except, of course, for Keegan Bradley’s caddie, who is reportedly not thrilled).

USGA Women’s Four-Ball

Youth seized the spotlight at the Bandon Dunes golf resort last week. In the first National Women’s Four-Ball, Mika Liu and Rinko Mitsunaga edged Robynn Ree and Hannah O’Sullivan by a count of 4 & 3. The average age of the finalists was just over 17, in contrast to the mid amateur-dominated men’s championship a week prior.

The winners are school mates from the IMG academy in Florida. The runners-up had earlier recorded a 10 & 8 victory; for the under-informed, that means that they won every hole they played! Not to be outdone, Liu and Mitsunaga made buckets of birdies for wins in the final, punctuated by a hole-out eagle from Mitsunaga that gave the pair a four-up lead with a scant six holes remaining.

The Rest of the Tours

The professional golf season is on point and scores are coming in from around the globe. Roland Thatcher threatened 59 on Saturday at the Web.com’s BMW Charity Pro-Am, but in the end, it was Rod Pampling with the two-stroke triumph over Kelly Kraft.

Minjee Lee made her rookie season sparkle on the LPGA Tour with a weather-delayed, Monday-morning victory at the Kingsmill Championship. Lee went low on Sunday with 65, good for a two-shot margin over So Yeon Ryu.

Finally, Justin Hueber squeaked past Brad Gell and Max Godoy by one thin putt at the 57-Degree Abierto Mexicano de Golf. The champion played the final four holes in 4-under par, highlighted by an eagle three on the penultimate hole.