Rory McIlroy hits his tee shot on the 17th hole. PHOTO: REUTERS/ Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports
The Northern Ireland star laid the foundations for a two-stroke victory over England’s Paul Casey with a bewitching front nine performance, sinking five birdies to be five under at the turn.
Two more birdies and a bogey on the back nine at TPC Boston sealed a deserved win for the 27-year-old, whose last win on the PGA Tour came at the Wells Fargo Championship in May 2015.
Back to the drawing board for McIlroy
The win earned McIlroy another $1.53 million and will see him move up to third in the next set of world rankings.
It also catapulted him from 38th to fourth place in the standings for the lucrative FedExCup post-season series.
The win completed a remarkable turnaround for McIlroy, who had got off to a disastrous start in his opening round on Friday to be four over par after his first three holes.
Mercurial McIlroy misses cut
“It’s amazing in this game how things can change so quickly,” said McIlroy. “From three holes in — four over par — there were a lot of things going through my mind, and one of them was not winning this tournament. “So 69 holes later I’m just really proud of myself.”
Third round leader Casey had begun the day three shots clear, but saw his challenge unravel after posting four bogeys in a two-over-par 73 to finish second.
PGA champion Jimmy Walker finished three adrift of McIlroy after shooting a 70.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 7th, 2016.
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