McIlroy wins Tour Championship to take third PGA playoff title

WASHINGTON: Rory McIlroy rallied from six strokes down in the final round to overtake top-ranked Scottie Scheffler and win his record third FedEx Cup title on Sunday by capturing the PGA’s Tour Championship. The 33-year-old from Northern Ireland fired a four-under-par 66 to finish on 21-under 263 at East Lake in Atlanta. Four-time major winner McIlroy took the $18 million top prize in the season-ending playoff showdown by one stroke over reigning Masters champion Scheffler, who fired a 73 on Sunday, and South Korean Im Sung-jae.

“I feel like Scottie deserves at least half of this,” McIlroy said. “I feel sort of bad that I pipped him to the post.” McIlroy, who has been a major advocate for the PGA Tour in its ongoing battle with the Saudi-backed LIV Golf Series, said it was more special to win this year in accepting the trophy. “It means an awful lot,” McIlroy said.

“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 incredbly proud moment for me but it should also be an incredibly proud moment for the PGA Tour. They have had some hard times this year but we’re getting through it.