The Tour Championship some thought would bore ended up providing an all-time thrilling finish, concluding with Rory McIlroy becoming the first three-time FedEx Cup winner.
McIlroy, who began the final round six strokes behind No. 1-ranked Scottie Scheffler, completed the largest final-round comeback in Tour Championship history late Sunday at East Lake Golf Club. He was already one of two multi-time FedEx Cup winners along with Tiger Woods (2007, 2009). McIlroy, 33, also won in 2016 and 2019.
“Back in 2019, I took down the No. 1 player in the world in Brooks Koepka; this year, I took down the No. 1 player in the world in Scottie Scheffler,” McIlroy said. “So I know that my best stuff is good enough to win any tournament against anybody on any golf course. That’s something I can take away from today.”
McIlroy won the $18 million prize and has accumulated $43 million for his three Tour Championship wins. Sunday marked his 22nd PGA Tour title.
Before the final round, which began after half the field had to finish the third round Sunday morning, McIlroy expressed confidence, saying he felt “experience and memories are on my side.” He later admitted when he teed off that he doubted his odds, but as he noticed Scheffler was uncharacteristically off his game early on the front nine, victory was increasingly conceivable.
McIlroy shot 66 in the final round and finished 21 under par, a stroke better than Scheffler and Sungjae Im. He birdied six times and caught Scheffler with well-placed drives and clutch putting (he made four putts of 10 feet or more during the last round).
“I was able to put some pressure on (Scheffler) early on, and then that, coupled with him not having his best stuff today (set me up),” McIlroy said. “I felt like going into the back nine, not that it was mine to lose, but I had all the momentum.”
Scheffler, the world’s top-ranked golfer, arrived at East Lake in an advantageous position, beginning 10 under, two shots clear, as the top seed. McIlroy began 4 under. He led for most of the weekend, holding off surges from Xander Schauffele and others to stay in pole position.
Scheffler finished the third round with four birdies on the final six holes, extending his advantage and positioning himself to potentially become the second player to win the Masters and FedEx Cup in the same season (Jordan Spieth remains the only individual with that distinction).
Instead, Scheffler tied the Tour record for the largest lead lost in the final round.
“Tip of the cap to Rory,” Scheffler said. “He played a really good round of golf. A really solid four days here. … He made some key putts there at the end, and he definitely deserved to win.”
It was a bitter ending for Scheffler, who shot his weekend’s worst 73 in the final round. He held a six-stroke lead entering the final round, the largest before any round at the Tour Championship in three years. He could’ve fortified his position with a strong start but faltered in ways he wasn’t accustomed.
Scheffler had three bogeys on the front nine after having only two across the first three days. He was 1 over across the back nine, at times struggling to find the fairway and missing key putts and chips. The backbreaker came on No. 16 when Scheffler found the rough on his tee shot and missed an 8-foot par putt, seeing the ball groove left of the hole, that resulted in a bogey and McIlroy’s lead. It was the first time the tournament had a leader not named Scheffler.
“That would be the one I’d like to have back,” Scheffler said of his 297-yard drive into the rough. He finished 3 over in the final round.
And so Scheffler, who spent 24 of the past 25 weeks atop the FedEx Cup standings, and showed such composure in winning the Masters, was one-upped by the gentleman he famously bested by three strokes in Augusta. McIlroy birdied two of his last nine holes and parred on the final three, which was all he needed after Scheffler’s bogey on 16.
“Scottie Scheffler is going to win the Player of the Year, there’s no doubt about that,” McIlroy said. “It would have been fitting for him to end his breakout season with a FedEx Cup title. He deserves this maybe more than I deserve it. He played an unbelievable season. He didn’t have his best stuff today, and I played well and took advantage of that.
“Scottie will have plenty more chances to win FedEx Cups. Hell of a player, hell of a competitor. Even better person. … I told him this certainly isn’t the last time that we’re going to have these battles on the golf course.”
McIlroy birdied on three consecutive holes (5-7) Sunday to first pull even with Scheffler. The latter quickly regained an advantage with a birdie on 8 and parred the rest of the way until 16. McIlroy pulled even again with a birdie on 15, attributed to perhaps his best shot of the day, a glorious 31-foot putt.
“I played a good back nine,” McIlroy said. “I didn’t play a great back nine, but I holed a couple of really crucial putts at the right time, especially that long one across the 15th green and then getting that little stroke of luck on 16, and those are the sort of things you need to happen to win golf tournaments, especially when you’re starting the day six shots back.”
Schauffele, who spent the weekend on Scheffler’s heels and began Sunday one stroke back, finished No. 4 at 18 under. After play was suspended on 12 Saturday, Schauffele had a sluggish finish to the third round (he had two bogeys and seven pars on the back nine). He shot 70 overall Sunday, his worst showing of the weekend after a stellar Friday positioned him nicely for a push. Schauffele never regained form following the inclement weather’s interference Saturday afternoon.
Im finished tied with Scheffler at 20 under. Im, who like McIlroy began the weekend 4 under, played well across the final three days, posting scores of 65, 66 and 66. He was on the cusp of an upset Sunday with seven birdies and an eagle on 14. Patrick Cantlay, who won the 2021 Tour Championship, stayed within striking distance throughout the weekend but shot even Sunday and finished 16 under (T-7).
