McIlroy saved some of that stellar stuff for the par-5 18th hole.
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McIlroy carded a final round six under 65 to finish 15 under for the tournament, with England’s Paul Casey second.
From there, it seemed merely a formality as the Northern Irishman played the last 69 holes at 19 under to secure a two-stroke victory, his second in the event, in the annual Labor Day weekend tournament at TPC Boston. “I will try and ride this momentum through to the Tour Championship and then hopefully once I do well there, maybe win the FedEx Cup, then turn my attention to the Ryder Cup”.
He turned in two over, and McIlroy had caught him already by the time they went to the back nine.
Jordan Spieth, who has dropped below McIlroy in the world rankings to fourth, also spoke of how impressed he was by McIlroy’s determination to improve.
McIlroy, who had not tasted victory on the PGA Tour since the Wells Fargo Championship in May past year, had started the tournament three over after his first four holes. I know I hadn’t won on the PGA Tour in a while but over the past 12 months I’ve still had three wins worldwide.
“It is fantastic to think how I started this tournament and what was going through my mind after three holes, and then all of a sudden standing here four days later with a trophy”, he said about the bogey and triple that featured in his opening three holes.
No need to look hard to see why McIlroy is back in the winner’s circle.
Day’s fellow Australian Adam Scott also praised McIlroy for his resilience after the new World No.3 received a lot of criticism earlier this season for not performing as well as his major rivals.
Englishman Casey, who last week missed out on a wildcard spot for the Ryder Cup, could only manage a 73 in his final round to finish second, while US PGA Championship victor, Jimmy Walker, finished third on 12 under.
McIlroy, on the other hand, was playing quality golf from the off today and birdies on the second, fourth, seventh, eighth and ninth put him right in the thick of things.
Patrick Reed, James Hahn and Argentina’s Fabian Gomez all tied for fifth place, 10 under for the tournament, five behind McIlroy.
McIlroy closed out the front nine with three straight birdies to take the lead for the first time.
That brought Casey within one stroke of McIlroy.
He ran into some more trouble on the final hole when he hit his approach shot into the green side bunker.
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.
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Day followed a Sunday 68 with a closing 67 to rise into a tie for 15th at seven back.
