Rory McIlroy Wins CJ Cup & Returns to World Number 1!

For Rory McIlroy to return to the top spot in the world, a few things had to happen.

First, he needed to win outright, and Scheffler finish T2 or worse. A solo 2^nd for Rory and worse than 34^th for Scottie caused the same outcome. Thankfully, after Scheffler sat some 13 shots behind Rory after Saturday in a tie for 47^th, it seemed inevitable that there would be a change at the top.

As Scheffler shot a Sunday 70 for a -1 total and a T40 finish, Rory closed out with a classy 67 to take home the win and storm to the top of the world rankings, with birdies on 14,15, and 16.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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This week marks his 23^rd PGA Tour title, with a masterclass that included one bogey and birdieing all of the par 5s. He played the three par fives in -12 this week, creating an average score of 4. That’s how to do it.

But his journey to #1 was much more than just what occurred at the CJ Cup in South Carolina. Scottie Scheffler hasn’t played like the best player in the world for some time. He has hit shanks, lost matches at the Presidents Cup, contended for majors then missed cuts, threatened low sixties then shot in the mid-seventies – and been, for want of a better word, streaky.

Rory has been the best player of the last few seasons – only those with short or haphazard memories would disagree. In fact, in terms of ranking at of the end of the golf season, he hasn’t been outside the Top 11 since 2009. Despite the major drought that is always referenced, Rory has won pretty much everything else in the game since 2014, and he has been the most consistent golfer in the world in the last nine months, no question. Scottie pipped Rory at the Masters, but Rory has been the man in control ever since.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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As Rory has continued to be the go-to man representing the PGA Tour, there is danger of slurs like ‘the Rory Tour’ catching on. He has certainly been at the forefront of media attention over the last six months. He has risen above all that to let his golf game match his strong words in front of the microphone; 9 Top 5s in his last 14 starts, three wins, and Top 8 in every major of 2022. Rory is still capable of producing a season like Tiger in 2000 or Spieth in 2015, or even Scheffler for the first half of 2022 – he is that kind of golfer. Perhaps 2022/23 is the year it all clicks together.

He will definitely find motivation in chasing down Greg Norman’s 331 weeks at world number 1, although he has some ways to go before his total of 106 weeks begins to surpass those names above him. After winning the RBC Canadian Open in June, Rory was quick to reference that his 21^st PGA Tour title took him one win above ‘someone else.’ The defense of the CJ Cup here in South Carolina marks 35 professional wins and hopefully sets the aggressive tone for the rest of his season.

Cover Image Via Extra