Sports

McIlroy takes PGA title — and torch from Tiger

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KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. — This is what we expect Rory McIlroy to do every time he tees it up in a major championship. He teased us at the 2011 Masters, dominated at the 2011 U.S. Open and now has validated his talent with a victory at the 94th PGA Championship.

He is no longer a rival to Tiger Woods, he is his successor. It might be a while before he wins 14 major championships, if ever. But there was a passing of a torch yesterday at the Ocean Course on Kiawah Island. The youngster from Northern Ireland is the darling of the sport now.

While his contemporaries, including Woods, struggled to keep pace, McIlroy made it look easy en route to a bogey-free 6-under-par 66 that put his winning score at 13-under par after a fist-pumping birdie on the 72nd hole. He finished eight shots clear of runner-up David Lynn of England, setting a record for largest margin of victory in a PGA Championship. Woods was a distant 11 shots back at 2-under after an even par round of 72.

“Rory is showing that with his A-game everybody else is going to struggle to compete with him, and Tiger needs his A-game to come up against Rory,” said three-time major winner Padraig Harrington.

At age 23, McIlroy is the youngest player of the modern era to win the PGA. He’s also younger than Woods and Jack Nicklaus were when they won their second majors. The way McIlroy attacked the Ocean Course yesterday, the way he escaped trouble, the way he putted under pressure was a reminder of Woods’ greatness.

“When he plays golf like he’s playing, this week, and obviously the last couple of days, he’s very impressive to watch,” Ian Poulter said. “Everybody should take note — the guy’s pretty good.”

This wasn’t the waltz it was at Congressional, though in the end it seemed like it. Poulter of England made a strong charge early with birdies on six of his first seven holes, and there were plenty of times when McIlroy had to get up and down from difficult spots.

Poulter’s early noise quieted when he made three consecutive bogeys beginning at the par-4 13th and finished at 4-under for the tournament.

Woods began the round five strokes behind McIlroy and never generated any momentum. He missed a makeable birdie putt on the first hole, signaling a day of near misses and not quite good enoughs. It leaves Woods without a major championship for the fourth straight year.

McIlroy, meanwhile, stayed poised, confident and in control of his game, daring everyone else to do the same. Six birdies, no bogeys, utter domination.

“I heard Tiger say to make a good season a great season you need to win a major championship,” McIlroy said. “Now I’ve had two great seasons in a row.”

McIlroy had struggled earlier this year, missing cuts at the Players Championship, the Memorial and the U.S. Open. He was a non-factor at the British Open before finding his game at the Bridgestone, where he was tied for fifth. He has quieted any talk of a slump.

“I wanted to go out there and prove people wrong and that’s what I did,” he said.

In retrospect, his performance on Kiawah Island was brilliant. He opened with a 67 and then managed a 3-over 75 on that brutal day on Friday. No one played better golf on the weekend.

“He’s going to be the player that kids look up to,” said Graeme McDowell. “Ten years ago it was Tiger Woods. It still is Tiger Woods to a certain extent. But now we’ve got superstars like Rory McIlroy for kids to be looking at.”

Capturing his second major should give McIlroy added confidence.

“I think winning his second major is going to make things a lot easier for him,” Harrington said. “I think he’ll be a better player for winning this time around. The last time it was great to win and I think it heaped a lot of pressure on him. I think winning a second time now will help him relax in that position and make it a lot easier on him going forward.”

george.willis@nypost.com