Thoughts will turn towards the Ryder Cup following the conclusion of the FedEx Cup and McIlroy is hoping he can maintain his standards to get the better of the Americans once again.
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The Northern Irishman trailed by six shots going into the final round before carding a six-under 65 that included seven birdies to beat Paul Casey by two shots.
Fifty-four hole leader Paul Casey of England began the day three shots clear of the field, but was done in by four bogeys in his 73.
McIlroy navigated the windy conditions with relative ease while playing his opening nine holes at 5 under with five birdies, three straight at Nos. 7-9.
“It is unbelievable to think how I started this tournament and what was going through my mind after three holes, and then all of a sudden (I’m) standing here with a trophy”.
On the flipside of McIlroy’s glee, Casey squandered a chance at his long-awaited second PGA Tour win.
“Obviously the Ryder Cup is there as well but, individually, FedEx Cup and Race to Dubai, were the two things that I really wanted to focus in on, and this has given me a real shot at trying to win that FedEx Cup for the first time”.
“I wasn’t searching”, McIlroy said.
American Jimmy Walker, who landed his first major title at the PGA Championship in July, carded a 70 to finish third at 12-under.
Well, those halcyon days are over and so, apparently, are McIlroy’s putting woes. “The next two tournaments are huge for me, to try and do that”. I found something. I still need to keep going with it.
The big shot never left him.
McIlroy’s win at TPC Boston was his first PGA Tour title since the 2015 Wells Fargo Championship, although he also won this year’s Irish Open on the European Tour.
Not so fortunate were Barnes, Kelly, Laird, Johnson Wagner, Colt Knost and Chaz Reavie, all of whom were in the top 70 to start the week but fell out when play ended on Monday.
The current world No5 ranked McIlroy went into the last day sharing seventh place at nine under par after rounds 71, 67 and 66. “My bunker play has been pretty good this week so I was pretty confident I was going to be able to get it up and down from there”.
“I have got great memories of going to Crooked Stick – hopefully I can go and emulate what I did there”, said the 27-year-old of the IN course that stages the BMW Championship from Thursday.
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The win puts McIlroy back in the top three in the world rankings and savouring the next FedEx playoff event, the BMW Championship which starts on Thursday at Crooked Stick.
