RORY McILROY HAS ended his victory drought on the PGA Tour as a stunning final round saw him claim a two-shot victory at the Deutsche Bank Championship. “I’ve just not been as positive about the situation as I could have been”.
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Countryman and world No.1 Jason Day shot a 67 to tie for 15th at eight-under, keeping him second in the points race behind Patrick Reed and ahead of Dustin Johnson while McIlroy jumped to fourth.
McIlroy’s final-round 6-under 65 allowed him to finish at 15 under, two shots better than 54-hole leader Paul Casey, who managed a 2-over 73.
Olympic champion and world No. 10 Justin Rose of England stumbled to a two-triple-bogey 79, falling to a tie for 57th at 14 back.
McIlroy will rise 34 places to fourth in the FedEx Cup standings – and nearer the $10m (£7.52m) prize for the victor – as a result of his victory.
Rory McIlroy came within a whisker of making the first albatross of his career but had to settle for an eagle at the par-five 18th in the third round at the Deutsche Bank Championship in MA on Sunday. “I wasn’t searching”, McIlroy said. Fine-tuning with the newest member of Team Rory since Baltusrol and his usual exceptional ball-striking were the keys to McIlroy overcoming a six-shot deficit at the start of Monday’s finale to earn his 12th tour win.
All three players have to push in order to make one of the 70 spots available for the BMW Championship this week, but expect the Canadian to hold his nerve.
NOREN WINS IN PLAYOFF: Alex Noren of Sweden sank a 20-foot birdie putt on the first extra hole to beat Scott Hend of Australia in a playoff for the European Masters title in Crans-Montana, Switzerland. McIlroy, 27, is the third-fastest to reach 12 Tour wins, with only Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus reaching the mark at younger ages. I knew my game was in good shape. “Here we are, 69 holes later and 19-under par later and I end up with the trophy”. “I hope he can keep doing that his whole career”.
“One of the things I would like on my golf CV is to win the FedEx Cup”, said McIlroy.
“It’s unbelievable what one good round does – just that little bit of confidence from (Saturday) carried into (Sunday)”.
Blustery weather set the leaders back early in their rounds, but conditions calmed and Casey came out firing to shoot his third consecutive five-under-par 66. Much has been lavished upon the best talent in the game today, and because of that much is always expected.
The world No.5’s bunker play was brilliant yesterday, while his putting, a cause of frustration in the recent past, was solid.
“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.
“He’s remarkable because he’s a bit Teflon-coated, Rory”, said Adam Scott, who can relate to struggles with the flat stick.
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“It’s a very nice way to be”.
