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Rory's Roars

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Rory's Roars

How Rory McIlroy finally conquered the FedExCup



    Written by Sean Martin @PGATOURSMartin

    Entering the 2016 Playoffs, the FedExCup was one of the rare omissions from Rory McIlroy’s resume. He’d had his chance to take home the trophy designed by the famed jewelers of Tiffany & Co. He didn’t think last year’s TOUR Championship would be one of those opportunities, though.

    'It was wishful thinking'

    McIlroy needed to win the TOUR Championship and have FedExCup leader Dustin Johnson finish outside the top 2 at East Lake. Johnson seemed unstoppable. He’d won the FedExCup Playoffs’ previous event, the BMW Championship, for his third victory of the season. Now he shared the 54-hole lead in the season finale.

    Leaderboard:
    T1. Dustin Johnson, 66-67-69—202 (-8)
    T1. Kevin Chappell, 66-68-68—202 (-8)
    T3. Rory McIlroy, 68-70-66—204 (-6)
    T3. Ryan Moore, 70-68-66—204 (-6)



    McIlroy and Moore teed off at 1:45 p.m., 10 minutes before Kevin Chappell and Dustin Johnson.

    McIlroy shot 1 under on the front nine, then made birdie on the 10th hole to get within two of the lead. His tee shot on the 205-yard 11th hole turned out a bit better than expected, leading to another birdie.


    Behind him, Johnson was struggling. He three-putted from 4 feet on the 12th hole, opening the door for McIlroy.

    'The perfect shot at the perfect time'


    It started at the 16th hole, where he hit a shot that defied the odds. After his tee shot flirted with a fairway bunker, McIlroy’s ball lay 138 yards from the hole.

    Pitching wedge was the club for his uphill second shot.

    And a shot that beat the odds.

    Here’s how PGA TOUR players performed last season on shots 135 to 140 yards:

    Total shots: 9,003
    Hole-outs: 8 (0.088%)
    Average proximity: 27 feet, 3 inches
    Inside 5 feet: 450 (4.998%)
    Outside 20 feet: 5,025 (55.815%)

    Leaderboard after hole-out:
    1. Kevin Chappell, 66-68-68—202 (-13)
    T2. Ryan Moore, 70-68-66—204 (-11)
    T2. Rory McIlroy, 68-70-66—204 (-11)

    Rory added a birdie at 18.

    Then had to wait and watch as Moore attempted his birdie putt.

    McIlroy and Moore both shot 64s on Sunday, making just one bogey between the two of them. They tied at 12 under with Kevin Chappell and headed to a three-way playoff.

    If McIlroy won the playoff, he’d also win the FedExCup. Johnson would walk away with the PGA TOUR’s biggest prize if Moore or Chappell were victorious.

    McIlroy had his chance on the first playoff hole after this amazing shot, which was punctuated by this perfect club twirl.

    He couldn’t capitalize, though.

    McIlroy and Moore halved two more holes before the playoff returned to the 454-yard, par-4 16th, the site of McIlroy’s miraculous hole-out.

    McIlroy didn’t repeat his feat, but he did have a 15-foot birdie putt. First, Moore had to make a par putt to keep the pressure on.

    McIlroy now needed to make his birdie putt to end the playoff.

    And he finally added the FedExCup to his sterling resume.

    Mission accomplished.

    Sean Martin manages PGATOUR.COM’s staff of writers as the Lead, Editorial. He covered all levels of competitive golf at Golfweek Magazine for seven years, including tournaments on four continents, before coming to the PGA TOUR in 2013. Follow Sean Martin on Twitter.

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