Aug 25, 2019; Atlanta, GA, USA; Rory McIlroy lines up his putt on the eighth green during the final round of the Tour Championship golf tournament at East Lake Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hagy-USA TODAY Sports
August 25, 2019
(Reuters) – Rory McIlroy won the Tour Championship and the FedEx Cup in style in Atlanta on Sunday, collecting the biggest first prize in the sport, $15 million.
Northern Irishman McIlroy emphatically outduelled Americans Brooks Koepka and Xander Schauffele with a four-under-par 66 in the final round at East Lake.
He finished at 18 under par, four shots ahead of Schauffele to claim the season-long FedEx Cup points competition for the second time on the PGA Tour, after his 2016 win.
It was a sweet stroll up the final hole for McIlroy, who last year had to make the walk alongside a victorious Tiger Woods as the heaving gallery chanted, “Tiger, Tiger.”
This time the chants were for McIlroy.
“It was pretty cool,” McIlroy said in a greenside interview.
“I must say I didn’t enjoy that walk last year like everyone else did. I never took the fight to Tiger.
“It’s amazing how different things can be in a year.”
McIlroy took the fight to Koepka just four weeks after being given a lesson by the American when they were paired in the final round at a World Golf Championships event in Memphis.
“Going up against the number one player in the world today, he got one over me in Memphis and I wanted to get some revenge,” McIlroy said.
“To play like that alongside Brooks, get the win, win the FedEx Cup, it’s awesome.”
Schauffele shot a closing 70, while Koepka was unusually error-prone in a 72 to tie for third with Justin Thomas, five shots behind.
(Reporting by Andrew Both in Cary, North Carolina; Editing by Ian Chadband and Pritha Sarkar)
