Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy birdied the fourth extra hole to win the season-ending Tour Championship in a three-way playoff in Atlanta along with FedExCup honors and $14 million million bonus.
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Johnson rolled in a 15-foot birdie putt at the par-three 15th, but his double bogey at 17, where he was twice in the rough and in a bunker, saw Chappell take the lead with a 10-foot birdie putt at the same hole. 126-200 in the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup standings and non-members with enough PGA Tour money to have placed in the top 200 in the FedEx Cup had they been eligible.
American Jason Dufner is four shots off the lead at 4-under and sixth outright, while South African Charl Schwartzel – who made back-to-back eagles – and Englishman Paul Casey are at T7 and 3-under.
A birdie on the ninth stopped the rot but he managed just one more birdie on his final hole to post a 71, sitting one over for the week and a distant nine shots off the pace. But he made back-to-back bogeys at Nos.
In tournaments that have extended through 72 holes, he has converted 54-hole outright or shared leads three out of seven times at the 2016 BMW Championship, 2013 WGC-HSBC Champions and 2010 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
McCarron bogeyed the par-5 18th in regulation for a 70.
“I felt like every time he made a mistake, he bounced right back with a birdie”, said McIlroy paying tribute to Johnson’s form. “Other than that, I thought the round was pretty solid”. It was disappointing not to make a birdie on the last [after a drive of 359 yards] but it seems like everyone is finding it quite hard out there so I’m not too far away and if I can straighten it out over the weekend, hopefully I still have a chance.
Chappell’s patient approach paid off Saturday.
“So I got nothing to lose”, Chappell said.
“I got it together a little bit on the back nine”.
“I’ve been able to keep momentum when I’ve had it”.
It was the longest playoff in the 30-year history of the Tour Championship.
“Kevin’s a buddy of mine”.
He becomes the second rookie on the USA team after Brooks Koepka, while Europe have six players making their debut in the biennial contest.
“I’m really comfortable with the swing”. It’s going to be a fun day.
“The golf that I needed to produce today to win, it ranks right up there”.
Club spotlight: When Rory McIlroy won the Deutsche Bank Championship, it marked his first win on the PGA Tour in 15 months.
“It was incredible. I just wanted to go out here and play the way I’ve been playing”. Nineteen players in the 29-man field shot par or better.
McIlroy now has four wins in FedEx Cup playoff events in his career, the most of any player in FedEx Cup Playoffs history.
The consolation prize for Moore might be a trip to Hazeltine National for the Ryder Cup. I think, first and foremost, I just need to try and win this golf tournament, and whatever happens after that happens. “That’s honestly completely out of my control”.
“I like my position”, Johnson said.
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“I knew D.J. [Johnson] was a few shots ahead of me and if there’s anyone I’m looking at this week, he’s the guy”, the former world No. 1 said.
