2022 FedEx Finale: Rory Makes History with a Third Win at East Lake

Rory McIlroy just walked home $18 million richer. The first player ever to win three Fed-Ex Cups.

After having to play two more holes of his Saturday round, he signed off with a birdie-birdie finish to card a 63 and make his way to the 1^st to chase down Scheffler and his four-stroke lead.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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And his putting has never looked better. After 16 holes he had over +4 strokes gained relative to the field for his day.

While Scheffler fired strings of pars interrupted by bogeys, sitting at +3 through 16 on Sunday; Rory went about slotting birdies, including three in a row on 5,6, and 7.

Around the turn it was all square, it was Rory who gave one back at 14 with a bogey. Scheffler looked timid on the greens all day, carding only one birdie on Sunday. He trailed two holes later after a monster birdie putt from Rory on the par 3 15^th, and then an incredible up and down after going long on 16 that involved a racing pitch that was stopped by the flagstick.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Despite all the format flaws, with a couple of holes to go the Tour Championship could have gone to one of four players. Sung-Jae Im and Xander Schauffele made a charge, with Im having a good birdie look on 18 that missed by an inch to card a Sunday 66 and a -20 total. Schauffele considered his stellar streak at East Lake with a solo 4^th at -18. Shout to Max Homa, who added to his two PGA Tour Wins with a weekend pair of 66s to capture a seven-figure check and round off a fantastic breakout season.

It was then between two. Matchplay golf down the last. The 18^th hole at East Lake on Sunday was worth $11.5m, the difference between 1^st and 2^nd place at the Tour Championship. It was advantage Rory; firing on all cylinders with a hot putter and a one-shot lead, and both him and Scheffler sent huge drives down the fairway on 18. After a quick ruling, both players made par. But Rory had the presence of mind to mark his ball to allow Scottie Scheffler to complete his round and secure his joint 2^nd place finish. The first thing he said in his winning speech was to thank Scheffler for his competitive spirit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Scottie Scheffler will bag the Player of the Year award for 2022, with four huge wins including the Masters. I have to think that Rory has now bagged two wins, but is a handful of swings from making it five wins, if you factor in his close calls at Brookline, Augusta and St. Andrews, missing out on the win by four, three and two shots respectively at those tournaments.

To whom can we dedicate Rory’s third FedEx Cup win? Well, his hot putter. Plus 6 strokes gained undid the deficit Rory had to make up on Sunday, because Scheffler had a rough day on the greens, losing three strokes to the field.

But, Rory draws inspiration from young Tom Kim. In the same fashion that Kim started with a quad bogey and went on to win the Wyndham Championship, Rory too had a horror first hole on Thursday, hitting it out of bounds and carding a treble bogey 7. After 4 holes on Thursday, he was 10 shots behind Scottie Scheffler.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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He fought back, playing flawlessly at the levels only peak Rory McIlroy is capable of reaching. He showed levels of resilience that are difficult to comprehend, both on and off the course.

He has had the weight of the golfing world on his shoulders over the last couple of months, juggling a near miss at the US Open and the Masters, being a consistent pro-PGA spokesperson, missing out on ending his major drought at the Open in heart-breaking fashion, trying not to get frustrated at the constant press conferences, watching his friends and colleagues jump ship to LIV Golf around him, as well as being a new father, being subpoenaed, and launching his own joint venture with Tiger Woods.

This was a deserved win, and demonstrates the value in trusting the process. If this form continues, I anticipate a big 2022/23 season from McIlroy. But for now, his victory drowns out any news of LIV signings, and we can allow Rory McIlroy to enjoy the win.

Cover Image Via Twitter