Rory McIlroy won the FedExCup on Sunday when he surged past Brooks Koepka in the final round of the TOUR Championship at East Lake, and also earned the first-place cheque worth $15 million.
One shot behind, McIlroy took the lead with a three-shot swing on No 7 and never let Koepka or Xander Schauffele catch him.
The four-time Major winner closed with a four-under 66 and finished four shots ahead of Schauffele.
He joined Tiger Woods as the only players to win the FedExCup twice since it began in 2007.
And this time, McIlroy had the stage to himself. A year ago, he was merely a bystander playing in the final group as Woods capped off his comeback by winning at East Lake.
This time, the chants were for him.
‘It was pretty cool,’ McIlroy said. ‘I must say I didn’t enjoy that walk last year like everyone else did. I played terribly. I got myself into the final group and never took the fight to Tiger. Going up against the No 1 player in the world today, he got one over on me in Memphis, and I wanted to try to sort of get some revenge today.
‘To play like that alongside Brooks and get the win, win the FedExCup, yeah, it’s awesome. You know, it’s amazing how different things can be in a year.’
Koepka shot a two-over 72 in the final round, his chances undone by a stretch of three consecutive bogeys on his back nine.
‘This week just didn’t get it done,’ Koepka said. ‘I don’t think I was going to beat Rory today, even if I had it.’
Schauffele, who won the 2017 TOUR Championship but not the FedExCup title that year in the previous format, battled through a poor driving round.
‘I hit it horrible,’ Schauffele said, who made his first career ace while completing his third round on Sunday morning. ‘I scrambled. I hung in there … besides the hole-in-one, I hit it pretty bad this morning, as well.
‘It’s one of those things, my game just wasn’t sharp enough at the right time, and I don’t really have too many complaints. Made some good saves and just fought all day.’
Leading final scores on Sunday in the US PGA Tour Championship at East Lake in Atlanta, Georgia (USA unless noted, par 70. Totals to par reflect ‘staggered start’ format):
1. Rory McIlroy (NIR) 66-67-68-66
2. Xander Schauffele 64-69-67-70
T3. Justin Thomas 70-68-71-68, Brooks Koepka 67-67-68-72
5. Paul Casey (ENG) 66-67-68-72
6. Adam Scott (AUS) 68-70-71-66
7. Tony Finau 70-69-70-67
8. Chez Reavie 71-64-70-70
T9. Patrick Reed 70-70-73-68, Kevin Kisner 71-70-68-68, Hideki Matsuyama (JPN) 66-75-66-71
