For a player who has at many times in his career made winning look easy, this one was hard.
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Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland captured his second Deutsche Bank Championship title, shooting a final-round 6-under-par 65 to claim a two-stroke victory on a windy Labor Day Monday.
He ended it in style, too.
Now, he just had to wait and see if he’d be caught.
Overnight leader Casey faced a 60-foot eagle putt on the final hole to force a playoff but three putted for par to finish 13-under, two behind the Northern Irishman.
The Englishman hit a monster drive on the par 5, leaving himself 223 yards, from where he knocked a 4-iron almost 60 feet from the pin.
It was Irish Open winner’s first victory on the PGA Tour since May past year and lifted him up to No4 in the FedEx rankings with $10m on offer for the first prize.
“It’s nice to get that first win in the States this year and hopefully I can take this momentum into the next couple of weeks and ultimately the Ryder Cup”.
On top of this being a statement victory in a year of struggles, McIlroy did it in a sublime manner.
He told Sky Sports: “I played some great golf and holed some great putts”. He managed to get back to even par at the end of the opening round, and he was on his way.
And he would only continue to rocket from there, posting rounds of 67, 66 and 65 to follow and play his final 69 holes in 19 under. Jason Day is second while Dustin Johnson is third.
“It is one of the last things I would like on my golf CV – to win the FedEx Cup”, said the four-time Major victor. McIlroy also switched putters last week at Bethpage Black, though he was at the bottom of the pack in putting.
He didn’t need to make everything in the final round, with his driving and short game setting up three early birdies. His only victory was the Irish Open in May, and when he missed the cut in the PGA Championship, he sought out popular British putting coach Phil Kenyon. How’d that work out?
On the par-four 12th, McIlroy took the lead for the first time in the tournament, courtesy of a 20-footer.
Casey, meanwhile, settled for a solo second with his 2-over 73 to finish a stroke ahead of Jimmy Walker.
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Where McIlroy ranked 77th in putting in last week’s Barclays Championship in a season where the putter had been his weakest club, the transformation since working with Kenyon was nearly immediate as he was ranked third in putting in the Deutsche Bank where he was also ranked first in driving and, most importantly of all, finished with the lowest score.
