Rory McIlroy punched the wrong numbers into the ATM in the final round of the Tour Championship as he failed to cash in on the FedEx Cup's $10 million bonus payout at the US Tour's season finale at East Lake in Atlanta, with American Billy Horschel winning the tournament and also scooping the jackpot payday in the process.
McIlroy, the world number one, entered the final round in a share of the lead with Horschel but it was the American – the hottest player on tour in the closing weeks of the season – who came up trumps with a closing round 68 for 269, 11-under-par.
Horschel finished three shots clear of runners-up McIlroy and Jim Furyk, with Chris Kirk, Justin Rose and Jason Day tied for fourth a shot further back. Horschel pocketed the $10 million bonus as FedEx Cup champion and another $1.4 million as tournament winner.
McIlroy finished strongly to sign for a 71 for 272, which gave him a share of second place and he can now put his clubs away competitively before reappearing at next week’s Ryder Cup at Gleneagles.
Ironically, Horschel won’t be in the USA team despite his status as FedEx Cup champion with a run in recent weeks that saw him finish runner-up in the Deutsche Bank and then go on to win the BMW and then the Tour Champion to crown a remarkable finale to the season. Horschel earned about $13.48 million over last three weeks, equivalent to about $445 per minute.
In accepting the Tour Championship and FedEx Cup trophies, Horschel – who shot 12 straight rounds in the 60s in finishing runner up at the Deutsche Bank and winning the BMW and the Tour Championship en route to the huge payoff – remarked: “It’s unbelievable . . . I was looking towards the 2014-15 season (after missing the cut at the Barclays) but knew my game was in the right shape and I just needed to get out of my own way.”
Where did it all go wrong for McIlroy? His undoing effectively came in a horror run around the turn as he struggled on the front nine – he incurred a double bogey five on the fifth. He then ran up three successive bogeys from the ninth to the 11th as the 25-year-old Northern Irishman unravelled and his quest for the huge payday was derailed.
On the par three sixth hole, McIlroy took out a five-iron – his playing partner Horscel had needed a two-iron to find the green – only for him to pull the shot left into a pond and run up a double bogey five that left him playing catch-up. However, it was his play from the ninth, 10th and 11th that really brought his ruination.
On the par five ninth hole, McIlroy’s drive was pushed way right and came to rest against the out-of-bounds fence adjoining the driving range.
His caddie JP Fitzgerald provided some very good advice as the situation was assessed. “Once you are over these bushes, you can chip out for your third,” advised Fitzgerald.
“I’m just going to blast it, see where it goes,” responded McIlroy, who proceeded to fire his wedge recovery over the huge trees.
The ball came to rest in the rough close to the fairway from where he laid up, but failed to save his par and recorded a bogey that would become a common theme for the following holes.
On the 10th, McIlroy – who had a 20 footer for birdie – inexplicably three-putted for bogey and then bogeyed the par three 11th. He was five over for a six hole stretch and his bid for the tournament and the FedEx Cup effectively disappeared in that run of holes.
To his credit, McIlroy finished strongly with a run of three successive birdies on the 15th, 16th and 17th for a 71.
Furyk produced a final round 69 for 272 to share second place with McIlroy.
