ATLANTA (AP) — Rory McIlroy, the strongest voice for the PGA Tour in a tumultuous year, had the final say with his clubs Sunday when he rallied from six shots behind to win the Tour Championship and capture the FedEx Cup for the third time.
McIlroy won $18 million, pushing his PGA Tour earnings to over $26 million for the season. He closed with a 4-under 66 to overtake Masters champion Scottie Scheffler, who made only one birdie in a 73.
Scheffler was hoping to cap off the best year in golf with the FedEx Cup title. Instead, his entry in the record book was tying a PGA Tour record for losing the largest 54-hole lead. The last one to do that was Dustin Johnson in 2017 at the HSBC Champions.
Sungjae Im fell back with a double bogey on the 14th hole and still managed a 66 to tie for second with Scheffler. Scheffler and Im each won $5.75 million.
McIlroy won the FedEx Cup in 2016 in a playoff. He won the FedEx Cup again in 2019, the first year of a staggered start. But this might have been the sweetest of fall, coming off a year in which the PGA Tour has been in a nasty battle with Saudi-funded LIV Golf, which already has attracted some two dozen players and now is part of an antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour.
It was McIlroy who has declared fierce loyalty to the PGA Tour over the last few years when rival leagues were coming into a view. And it was McIlroy who joined Tiger Woods in leading a momentous player-only meeting last week that led to significant changes ahead for the tour.
LPGA TOUR
OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Paula Reto won the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open for her first LPGA Tour victory, closing with a 4-under 67 for a one-stroke victory over Nelly Korda and Hye-Jin Choi.
The 32-year-old Reto finished at 19-under 265 at Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club after opening with a course-record 62. She’s the fourth South African winner on the LPGA Tour, following Sally Little, Lee-Anne Pace and Ashleigh Buhai — the British Women’s Open champion this year.
Korda missed a chance to reclaim the No. 1 ranking, also shooting a 67.
Choi, tied for the third-round lead with fellow South Korean rookie Narin An, had a 69. Three-time champion Lydia Ko had a 63 to finish fourth at 17 under. An shot a 72 to tie for sixth at 15 under.
PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS
GRAND BLANC, Mich. (AP) — Steve Stricker won The Ally Challenge at Warwick Hills for his second PGA Tour Champions victory of the season and ninth overall.
The 55-year-old Stricker closed with a 5-under 67 — rebounding from a bogey on the 12th with four straight birdies — for a one-stroke victory over Brett Quigley.
Stricker also won the major Regions Tradition in May in Alabama.
Quigley finished with a 68. Jeff Maggert was third at 13 under after a 65.
Second-round leader Scott Dunlap (71) and Padraig Harrington (66) tied for fourth at 12 under. Harrington won the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open last week in upstate New York.
EUROPEAN TOUR
CRANS MONTANA, Switzerland (AP) — Thriston Lawrence won the European Masters with a par on the first playoff hole to beat Matt Wallace, who missed a 5-foot putt.
The 25-year-old Lawrence won his second title on the European tour this season to add to the opening Joburg Open in his native South Africa last November.
Starting the day with a three-shot lead, Lawrence carded a 1-under 69 for an 18-under total of 262 at the high-altitude Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Club.
Wallace, playing in the group ahead, fired a bogey-free round of 66 to go into his third career playoff. He won the previous two in 2018.
KORN FERRY TOUR
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — David Lingmerth led wire-to-wire to win the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship and wrap up a PGA Tour card.
The Swede birdied the last for a 3-unde 68 and finished at 17-under 267 total on Ohio State University Golf Club’s Scarlet Course, matching the tournament record set last year by Adam Svensson.
Lingmerth finished 193rd on the FedEx Cup points list.
Paul Haley II was second at 15 under after a 68.
U.S. GOLF ASSOCIATION
KETTERING, Ohio (AP) — Jill McGill won the U.S. Senior Women’s Open for her third U.S. Golf Association title, closing with an even-par 73 on a day when no one broke par for a one-stroke victory over Leta Lindley.
The 50-year-old McGill finished at 3-under 289 on NCR Country Club’s South Course. She also won the 1993 U.S. Women’s Amateur and 1994 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links.
Lindley shot a 74. Catriona Matthew shot a 73 to tie for third at 1 under with 2019 winner Helen Alfredsson (76).
Defending champion Annika Sorenstam shot 77 to to tie for fifth at 1 over with 2018 winner Laura Davies (78) and Juli Inkster (73). Davies began the round tied for the lead with Alfredsson.
OTHER TOURS
Linn Grant birdied the last two holes for a 1-under 68 to win the Skafto Open on the Ladies European Tour by one shot over Lisa Pettersson. It was the fourth LET victory this year for the former Arizona State star. … Jillian Hollis won the Circling Raven Championship in Idaho for her third career Epson Tour title. She closed with an 8-under 64 to finish at 18 under, two strokes ahead of Robyn Choi. Gillian earned $30,000 to jump from 24th to eighth on the money list with $64,562, with the final top 10 earning LPGA Tour cards. … Sweden won the World Amateur Team Championship in a tiebreaker over the United States for its third title, and the first for the Swedes since 2008. Sweden and the U.S. tied at 13-under par using the top two scores from their three-member squads. The tie was determined by the non-counting scores for the final round. Louis Rydqvist had a 73, one shot better than Rachel Kuehn. … Riki Kawamoto, a 22-year-old rookie playing on a sponsor invitation, birdied the last hole for a 2-under 70 and a one-shot vicory over Sang Hee Lee in the Sansan KBC Augusta on the Japan Golf Tour. … Anthony Michael won his first Sunshine Tour event after 12 years on the South African circuit. He closed with a 3-under 69 for a one-shot victory in the Vodacom Origins of Golf at Highland Gate. … Jake Knapp won the CRMC Championship at Cragun’s Resort in Brainerd, Minnesota, for his third PGA Tour Canada victory. Knapp closed with a 6-under 64 to finish at 26-under 254. He had five eagles during the week to match the tour record. Wil Bateman (62) was two strokes back. … Mikael Lindberg won his first European Challenge Tour title by closing with a 5-under 66 for a three-shot victory in th Indoor Golf Group Challenge, which was reduced to 54 holes because of weather. … Olympic silver medalist Mone Inami shot 2-under 70 and won the Nitori Ladies Golf Tournament by one shot on the Japan LPGA. … Ji Won Hong closed with an even-par 72 and won the Hanwha Classic by four shots over Min Ji Park on the Korea LPGA. … Adilson Da Silva of Brazil closed with a 2-under 70 and won the Staysure PGA Seniors Championship at Formby by six shots on the Legends Tour.
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