Rory McIlroy wins a dramatic PLAYERS Championship
Rory McIlroy has won the 2019 PLAYERS Championship, holding off Jim Furyk to win by one stroke.
Rory McIlroy banished any Sunday demons with a dramatic one-stroke win at the PLAYERS Championship at Sawgrass.
McIlroy started the final round with yet another poor start that had golf fans wondering if he really can get it done on a Sunday.
McIlroy walked off the fourth hole with a double-bogey after finding the water in front of the green. A bogey three holes later had golf writers drafting their latest piece on Rory’s Sunday woes.
But a birdie at the ninth, followed by consecutive birdies at the 11th and 12th holes saw McIlroy back in the hunt for the PLAYERS Championship trophy.
Jim Furyk earlier had looked set to become the oldest ever winner of the PLAYERS Championship when the 48-year-old birdied the final hole to take the clubhouse lead at 15-under par. Furyk hasn’t won a tournament since 2015 but his eventual second place finish secured a handy US$$1,350,000 cheque. Equal to the biggest winning paycheck of his career.
After a birdie to take the lead at the 16th hole, McIlroy made par at the 17th hole to take a one-stroke lead over Furyk going into the final hole.
Needing a par at the 18th to secure victory, McIlroy took an aggressive line for his approach shot to ensure an easy two putt par to claim victory and the massive US$2,250,000 winners paycheck.
Jon Rahm and Tommy Fleetwood struggled to find their game for most of the day with both players finishing their tournament on a watery note finding the water at the 17th hole.
England’s Eddie Pepperell and Venezuela’s Johnattan Vegas had no such problems at the 17th hole. Both carded sublime 6-under par 66 final rounds to set the clubhouse lead at 14-under par before Furyk finished.
Pepperell and Vegas recorded dramatic, huge birdie putts at the famed par-3 187th hole. In Vegas’ case it was the longest putt on record at this island green hole.
Going into the final day Jason Day was the best of the Aussies and looked to have a shot at the title but three bogeys on his opening nine saw him finish in a tie for eighth place, four shots behind McIlroy. Adam Scott closed with a 2-under par 70 to finish a shot behind Day.