Rory McIlroy outlasts Brooks Koepka, Xander Schauffele to win his second FedEx Cup title

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It got a little shaky towards the end, but Rory McIlroy was able to hang on today at East Lake, shooting a four-under 66 to win the FedEx Cup for the second time in the past four seasons. He joins Tiger Woods as the only other player to win the season-ending title multiple times, McIlroy’s first coming in 2016, when the Northern Irishman won both the Tour Championship and the FedEx Cup.

Early in the round it was shaping up to be another Brooks Koepka victory lap, as the four-time Major winner scrambled for five straight pars to start his day and then made birdie at the sixth to open up the lead he took into the final 18 holes. But a hooked drive at the seventh that resulted in a lost ball led to a disastrous double-bogey, and even after a bounce-back birdie at the next, Koepka continued to struggle off the tee for much of the day.

Koepka’s off-the-tee woes, plus a little bit of luck, allowed McIlroy to grab the solo lead, and only Xander Schauffele was able to apply any real pressure the rest of the way. A birdie at the 12th from Schauffele made things somewhat interesting, but a bogey at 14 put an end to any comeback.

Even after back-to-back bogeys at 15 and 16, McIlroy was still able to cruise home, ending any real drama with a birdie at the 17th and adding one more birdie for good measure at 18 to win by four.

“I didn’t enjoy that walk last year like everyone else did,” said McIlroy of his stroll up the 72nd hole. “I played terribly, got myself into the final group, but I never took the fight to Tiger. Going up against the No.1 player in the world today, he got one over on me in Memphis and I wanted to get some revenge today. To play like that alongside Brooks and get the win and win the FedEx Cup, it’s awesome. It’s amazing how different things can be in a year.”