“If you had said to me after three holes on Friday that I would be sitting up here addressing you guys as the victor of this tournament, I would have told you to go somewhere, I think”, he said.
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“It’s just incredible, this game, how quickly things can change and how quickly things can turn around”.
McIlroy, who had not tasted victory on the PGA Tour since the Wells Fargo Championship in May past year, pinpointed his remarkable recovery after a disgusting start to Friday’s opening round as key to his success at the TPC Boston.
He bogeyed 17 – his first dropped shot of the day – to offer his English rival a glimmer of hope before rebounding at the last to record one final birdie to seal his win.
McIlroy, 27, finished at 15-under 269 to move back to No. 3 in the world after slipping out of the top three earlier this year when Dustin Johnson won the U.S. Open, Henrik Stenson won the British Open and McIlroy kept sliding, largely because of his putting.
He tapped in for a third consecutive five-under 66 at the TPC Boston.
McIlroy bounced back brilliantly from a disastrous start in the first round on Friday.
He is happier with his stroke after tweaking his grip last week, and will need a hot putter today to have a chance of posting a 12th PGA Tour victory.
But McIlroy couldn’t carry those vibes onto the Tour Championship, and Brandt Snedeker wound up winning the FedExCup.
A new putter. The old Rory McIlroy.
The win lifts McIlroy 34 places to fourth in the Fed Ex Cup standings.
Barclays champion Reed remains atop the standings while top-ranked Jason Day of Australia is second. Adam Scott ended up in fourth after matching McIlroy’s round of 65. He finished alone in second. “There’s a lot that can happen – and I sort of proved that to myself this week”.
The Englishman, playing two groups behind McIlroy, was still within two strokes of the lead playing the final hole and found the green on the par-5 with his second shot. Hearn closed with a 70 and tied for eighth. No one has to tell Rory McIlroy that.
McIlroy was inches away from an albatross on the par-five 18 on Sunday as he carded a 66, while Oosthuizen hit the lowest round of the day with a seven-under-par 64.
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Olympic gold medallist Justin Rose was in the thick of the action as he got to 11 under through 10 holes but then played the final eight holes in 10 over, including triple bogies at the 13 and 16 holes along with a double bogey at the par-4 12.
