MAGICAL MCILROY WINS TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP AND $15m FEDEX CUP

Rory McIlroy carded a final round 66 at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta to win the Tour Championship by four shots and secure the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup title and the $15 million first prize.

McIlroy started the tournament on five under par, due to the FedEx Cup’s new handicap system, but would still have won the tournament outright if it had been played on level terms, as he finished well ahead of his title-chasing rivals. Justin Thomas led McIlroy by five shots at the start of the week, but finished on 12 under to share third with Brooks Koepka, while Xander Schauffele took second, four shots in arrears.

With weather delays on Saturday – during which six spectators were taken to hospital following two lightning strikes – the leaders had to play two-thirds of their third round on Sunday morning, before setting out on the final round later in the afternoon.

Koepka held a one-shot lead with 18 to play, but the world no.1 failed to find his best form when it mattered most, hitting a double bogey on the seventh – his first in 142 holes – and racking up three consecutive bogeys on the back nine to finish with a 74.

McIlroy, meanwhile, was back to his imperious best. Still smarting after being outgunned by Koepka at last month’s WGC-FedEx St Jude Invitational, and his defeat in this tournament 12 months ago at the hands of Tiger Woods, the 30-year-old from Northern Ireland showed the kind of form that took him to the FedEx Cup title in 2016. With birdies at six and seven, he took the lead from Koepka, and despite dropping shots at 14 and 15, birdies at 12 and 13, and two more at 17 and 18, put the icing on a particularly rewarding cake.

“To play like that alongside Brooks and win, it’s awesome,” said McIlroy. “He got one over on me in Memphis last month, and I wanted to sort of try to get some revenge today. My goal twas to go and shoot the lowest score of the week. It’s been such a cool way to end what has been for me a great season.

To win three times is awesome. I feel like I could have won more, but to win the FedEx Cup again, to keep giving myself chances, even when I was getting knocked back, I’m very proud of myself and I’m going to enjoy this one.”

RORY’S STATS IN 2018-2019 PGA TOUR SEASON