McIlroy won the FedExCup for a third time after claiming a one-shot victory over Scottie Scheffler in Atlanta; Tiger Woods and Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald among the players to praise McIlroy for his win on social media
Monday 29 August 2022 12:02, UK
Rory McIlroy hailed the PGA Tour as the "greatest place in the world" to play golf after making FedExCup history with a dramatic victory at the season-ending Tour Championship.
The Northern Irishman scooped the $18m (£15.3m) jackpot after overturning a six-stroke deficit during a thrilling final round at East Lake GC, with McIlroy posting a four-under 66 to end the week on 21 under and a shot clear of world No 1 Scottie Scheffler.
McIlroy's victory sees him become the first three-time FedExCup champion and comes at the end of a turbulent season within the sport, with several of the PGA Tour's star names already leaving for the breakaway LIV Golf circuit and more expected to in the coming days.
"It [FedExCup victory] means an awful lot," McIlroy said during the presentation ceremony. "I believe in the game of golf. I believe in this Tour in particular. I believe in the players on this Tour.
"It's the greatest place in the world to play golf, bar none, and I've played all over the world. This is an incredibly proud moment for me, but it should also be an incredibly proud moment for the PGA Tour.
"They [the PGA Tour] have had some hard times this year, but we're getting through it. That was a spectacle out there today, two of the best players in the world going head-to-head for the biggest prize on the PGA Tour, and I hope everyone at home enjoyed that."
McIlroy mixed six birdies with two bogeys during the final round to hold off Scheffler, who led through large parts of the week before narrowly missing out on a fifth PGA Tour win of the campaign.
"I feel like Scottie [Scheffler] deserves at least half of this today," McIlroy added. "He has had an unbelievable season. I feel sort of bad that I pipped him to the post, but he's a hell of a competitor.
"He's an even better guy. It was an honour and a privilege to battle with him and I'm sure we'll have many more. I told him we're one-all in Georgia today: He got the Masters and I got this!
"I didn't really give myself much of a chance teeing off today. I thought six behind, I thought it was going to be really tough to make up. But my good play and Scottie's not-so-great play, and it was a ballgame going into the back nine."
Scheffler - playing alongside McIlroy - saw his six-shot advantage disappear with three bogeys in the opening six holes of his final round on Sunday, with the Masters champion finishing tied-second alongside Sungjae Im after a three-over 73.
"I hit the ball really well today," Scheffler said. "I just for whatever reason, I couldn't get enough looks. Maybe if I could take a few shots back, I'd probably take back the drive on 16.
"But outside of that, I really fought hard today. Rory [McIlroy] just played a really good round of golf. He made some key putts there at the end, and he definitely deserved to win.
"He played a really good round of golf. A really solid four days here. I don't know exactly what he started the week off, but I'm sure he was pretty close to winning the tournament individually, as well. Tip to the cap to him. He played a great round of golf today and played good enough to win."
