Rory McIlroy recaptured his very best form to claim his first PGA Tour title for 16 months after a stunning display helped claim the Deutsche Bank Championship at TPC Boston.
Advertisement
McIlroy, who finished at 15-under 269, moves back to No. 3 in the world.
“It’s just incredible, this game, how quickly things can change and how quickly things can turn around”.
On Friday, three holes into the Deutsche Bank Championship, Rory McIlroy had to make a 15-foot putt just to escape with triple bogey.
Casey needed an eagle to force extra holes and he gave himself a chance when he found the back of the green in two, but raced his 60-foot putt past the pin and then missed the return as McIlroy celebrated a remarkable victory in the clubhouse.
“From three holes in – four over par – there were a lot of things going through my mind, and one of them was not winning this tournament”, a jubilant McIlroy told Sky Sports. “I was thinking, ‘Here we go again, ‘ and that it was going to be a little bit of a grind and a bit of a struggle”.
“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”.
Casey started the final round with a three-shot lead in his bid for his first PGA Tour victory since 2009, but he closed with a 73.
PGA Championship victor Jimmy Walker was a further shot back from Casey in third whilst Australian Adam Scott came fourth on 11-under-par for the tournament.
Patrick Reed, James Hahn and Argentina’s Fabian Gomez all tied for fifth place, 10 under for the tournament, five behind McIlroy.
Meanwhile Olympic champion Justin Rose – who had started the day level with McIlroy on nine under – endured a miserable day at the office, plummeting down the leaderboard after an eight-over-par 79. Kevin Chappell and Ryan Moore fell back with bogeys on the back nine.
“Then I tweaked my putting grip on Saturday morning, holed some putts on Saturday and went with it and got some momentum”, said McIlroy.
McIlroy meanwhile was left hoping Monday’s win was an omen.
The Northern Irishman’s victory elevated him from 38th to fourth in the FedExCup standings heading into the BMW Championship this week and the world number three is hungry for more success in what has been an underwhelming year.
Advertisement
“I just had positive vibes going in there”.
