Rory McIlroy became the first player to win the FedExCup three times; won the TOUR Championship for his 22nd career PGA TOUR title. Beginning Sunday six strokes back; his marked the largest final-round comeback in TOUR Championship history.
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Excerpts from an interview:
How does it feel to do something (winning the FedExCup thrice) that Tiger has never done?
Rory McIlroy: You know, to be the first to do anything in the game that you love so much, it’s an incredibly proud moment. The FedExCup isn’t that old. I’ve won three out
of the 16, I guess is it now? But yeah, to do something else that no one else has done
and to even just give myself the opportunity to do that today, and then coupling that with the opportunity and playing the golf when you needed to to get the job done,
incredibly satisfying. I’ve been knocking on the door so much this year. St Andrews was really hard for me. Still, it was a tough one to get over. This softens the blow a little bit. It doesn’t make it that much easier to get over, but it’s great to end the season on a high note like this.
As far as St Andrews, was this answering a question for you that was in your mind about rising to the occasion?
Rory: Yeah, I think so. Look, the FedExCup is a huge tournament, but the major championships are the pinnacle of our sport; this is close behind. I just felt so
close all year. I had a couple wins, but I was just waiting for something. Maybe this was it. I got a little lucky with Scottie (Scheffler) not playing his best golf today, and I took advantage of that with my good play. But, you know, I went up against the best player in the world today and I took him down, and that’s got to mean something.
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Let’s talk about the golf, because you started the week six shots back. You started your tournament with a triple, and then today (Sunday) it seems like that rain delay, going out in the way that you did, making two birdies, and when you came to speak to me you seemed like you were really up for the challenge this afternoon and that perhaps you had your best stuff in the locker and you were ready to unleash it.
Rory: Yeah, that’s how it felt. Six behind on the first tee on Thursday and I was 10 behind on the third tee. I guess it just shows you anything’s possible, even when you’re a few behind or a few in front in the tournament. Anything can happen. I’m going to remember this week mostly for that. Your mind can go one of two ways when you start like that, and
automatically I thought about Tom Kim at Greensboro and the fact that he won after starting with a quad. I could have easily thought the other way and thought, I’ve got no
chance now; what am I doing here? But I just sort of, I guess, proved that I was in a really good mindset for the week and I didn’t let it get to me too much and just stuck my head down and got to work.
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Finally, with what this means to you, it’s fair to say it’s been a pretty stressful year in the world of golf. There’s been a lot going on, and you have really taken it on yourself to be a spokesperson for the PGA TOUR. You’ve been at the forefront and honest in your fight for the PGA TOUR and what it means. Does that make winning the FedExCup this year specifically extra special?
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Rory: It does. Everyone on TOUR has had to deal with a lot. Even the guys that have went to LIV have had to deal with a lot. It’s just been a very tumultuous sort
of era in our game. I said it in the sort of prize ceremony there, this is the best
place in the world to play golf. It’s the most competitive. It’s got the best players. It’s got the deepest fields. I don’t know why you’d want to play anywhere else.
