The 16th at East Lake Golf Club was a fairytale hole for Rory McIlroy, who birdied the par four to beat Ryan Moore in a playoff for the PGA Tour Championship.
Hear him roar!
Rory McIlroy wins the @playofffinale and #FedexCup https://t.co/FrGhAt07sz
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) September 25, 2016
‘I just needed to come out here and play a really good round of golf. I played with Ryan right through the day and hats off to him, he really made it tough,’ said McIlroy.
The Northern Irishman told Tour Commisioner Tim Fencham that he ‘would do something exciting this afternoon,’ before teeing off, and he fulfilled the promise.
The 16th yielded less birdies than any other hole this week, but McIlroy holed out for eagle there during regulation play to move within a stroke of then-leader Kevin Chappell.
Rory McIlroy! One back with two holes to go.
The @playofffinale just got really interesting. #QuickHits https://t.co/iXDwRuJSxq
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) September 25, 2016
He went on to birdie the 18th and set the clubhouse target at 12 under par, which Moore and Chappell equalled to force extra holes.
The trio played the 18th an extra time, with Chappell dropping out after making par.
McIlroy and Moore continued their duel in another trip down the 18th, then played the par-three 15th and finally the 16th. It equalled the longest playoff on the PGA Tour this year.
More than 150 000 golf balls were hit during the course of the 2015/16 season, but it came down to a 14-foot putt that McIlroy nailed to secure his victory.
The win edged him clear of Dustin Johnson at the top of the FedEx Cup standings, earning the European a $10-million bonus cheque.
‘I wanted to keep my play up to recent standards,’ said McIlroy, who won the Deutsche Bank Championship a fortnight ago. ‘I feel like my game is coming together at the right time. Two wins in three weeks is pretty nice.’
