The App is Back! Don’t forget to download the NBC Sports EDGE app to receive real-time player news, mobile alerts and track your favorite players. Plus, now you can check out articles and player cards. Get it here!
Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy guaranteed himself lifetime membership on the PGA Tour and achieved something Sunday only 38 players before him had ever done as he captured his 20th career victory with a win Sunday at The CJ Cup @ Summit.
The 32-year-old McIlroy, who started the final round at The Summit Club in Las Vegas two strokes back, carded a 6-under 66 to set a tournament record at 25-under 263, good for a one-stroke victory over world No. 3 Collin Morikawa and a milestone moment as he joins golf legends Arnold Palmer, Billy Casper, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson as the only players since 1960 to reach 20 wins before their 33rd birthday. McIlroy, who turns 33 in May, now stands T-35 on the all-time wins list, and his lifetime membership begins at the conclusion of his 15th year on Tour -- following the 2022-23 season.
[[ad:athena]]
“I was asked that question at the start of the week and it is a pretty big carrot,” said McIlroy, who came into the week listed at +1800 via PointsBet Sportbook (Justin Thomas and Dustin Johnson topped the market at +1100) and +250 heading into Sunday. “I think to get to 20 wins out here is a big achievement. I didn’t know if it was going to be this week, but I knew if I just kept my head down and kept playing well and doing the right things, eventually I’d get there.”
It was just three weeks ago that McIlroy choked up with tears during an emotional greenside interview at Whistling Straits, disappointed with his 1-3-0 performance and sentimental about his team following Europe’s dramatic 19-9 loss to the Americans at the 43rd Ryder Cup. He said Sunday it was that moment that perhaps lit the fire that resulted in a victorious season debut.
“It was huge, it really was. I was really disappointed with how I played. I get more emotional thinking about that than even thinking about this,” said McIlroy, whose only win in Wisconsin was in singles over Xander Schauffele. “Yeah, there was a lot of reflection the last couple weeks, and this is what I need to do: I just need to play golf, I need to simplify it, I need to just be me.
“I think for the last few months I was maybe trying to be someone else to try to get better, and I sort of realized that being me is enough and being me -- I can do things like this.”
Also coming to a realization of sorts was surprise contender and sponsor exemption Rickie Fowler, who hit all 18 greens for the third time in his Tour career on Saturday en route to a bogey-free, 9-under 63 and his first 54-hole lead since the 2019 Waste Management Phoenix Open.
At 21-under 195 through three rounds, Fowler set a new tournament record and held a two-shot lead over McIlroy as he chased his sixth career Tour win. But the 32-year-old Oklahoma State alum labored to a 1-under 71 on Sunday, derailed by a double bogey at the sixth, and finished T-3 with second-round leader Keith Mitchell at 22 under.
“I just had a couple swings that got me out of position,” said Fowler, who now stands 2-for-8 when entering the final round with the lead and whose last win came in 2019 in Phoenix. “One, I had to take an unplayable lie, which I was really just trying to hit it up the left part of the green there, just got a touch left of my line, and then a couple three-putts. Struggled a bit on the greens just with feel and speed.
“So really, all in all, you factor that in, miss a couple opportunities coming down the last couple, we’re only three shots back of Rory. So, a lot of good stuff. Obviously disappointed, but this is a big step in the right direction with where we’ve been in the last two years.”
Also happy with his performance following a career-low, bogey-free 62 was Morikawa, who was making his season debut at his home course. The 24-year-old, two-time major winner started Sunday seven strokes back of Fowler and summoned his member’s knowledge of The Summit Club to card seven birdies and shoot a blistering 29 on the front nine to start his rally. He made just one birdie through eight holes on the back but finished with a walk-off eagle on 18, striping a 4-iron from 248 yards out to within 6 feet and draining the putt.
“I knew I needed a good start,” said Morikawa, who went undefeated (3-0-1) as a member of the victorious U.S. Ryder Cup team. “After my second shot on one, I left it like 20 feet short, so not the chip shot I wanted, but made the putt. Just kind of built momentum. I felt really good over the putter and that’s kind of some of those days where you’re going to hit it good, putt it good and be able to make a few birdies. …”
“To be honest, I pretty much knew the course like the back of my hand. Normally I’m taking a lot of notes in my yardage book drawing arrows, drawing Xs, but didn’t do that this week. I just went out and played like I normally would.”
Rounding out the top five at 21 under were Talor Gooch (62), Sam Burns (66), Aaron Wise (660 and Aussie Adam Scott (69). Of note, Gooch has finished no worse than T-11 in three starts this season, while recent Sanderson Farms Championship winner Burns maintained the FedExCup lead.
Defending champion Jason Kokrak finished T-54; Harris English withdrew during the final round with a back injury.
Editor’s Note: Get an edge with our premium DFS and Betting Golf Tools that are packed with a DFS Optimizer, DFS Projections, Salary Tracker, Edge Driver, Prop Projections, Futures and much more. Gain access to both tools in our EDGE+Max tier and don’t forget to use promo code SAVE10 to get 10% off. Click here to learn more!
Grillo, Mitchell, Streb set records at Summit Club
“Depth of field” was a storyline early in the week that translated to multiple record-setting performances, including a career-low, 11-under 61 by Emiliano Grillo on Sunday. The 29-year-old Argentinian, who finished T-18, posted the lowest final round in the history of the CJ Cup and equaled the tournament record set by 34-year-old Robert Streb (T-9) during the first round.
Second-round leader Keith Mitchell (T-3) set personal and tournament bests early in the week, establishing an opening 36-hole tournament record at 18-under 126 total (previous low was 14-under 130 set by Xander Schauffele in 2020 at Shadow Creek). After equaling his career-low round (62) on Thursday, Mitchell followed up with a 64 to also establish a personal-best opening 36-hole score.
South Korea’s Sungjae Im leaves his two-week stint in Las Vegas with a win at the Shriners Children’s Open and a T-9 at The Summit Club. In three starts this season, Im is a collective 57-under with all 12 rounds below par.
Justin Thomas (T-18) led the field this week with 29 birdies and 30 par breakers and closed his final-round 64 by playing his final seven holes in 7-under (five birdies, one eagle).
Harold Varner III (T-32) finished with a 3-under 69 for his 16th consecutive sub-par round on Tour, dating to an opening-round 67 last season at the BMW Championship. He has now played his last 20 rounds at par or better, dating back to an opening-round 66 at the Northern Trust.
Next up: Zozo Championship
Expect a hero’s welcome for reigning Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama this week when the PGA Tour visits Asia for the first time since 2019 as the Zozo Championship returns to Japan and the Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club.
Narashino CC, which hosted the inaugural event in 2019 won by Tiger Woods, will host 5,000 spectators per day as well as a competitive international field featuring world No. 3 Collin Morikawa, Tokyo Olympics gold medalist and world No. 5 Xander Schauffele, Rickie Fowler, reigning rookie of the year Will Zalatoris and European Ryder Cup stars Paul Casey, Tommy Fleetwood, Shane Lowry and Lee Westwood.
Last year’s event, moved from Japan to Sherwood Country Club in California due to the COVID-19 pandemic, marked the first of four wins on the season by Patrick Cantlay. Cantlay rallied from four shots back on the final day, carding four birdies in a five-hole stretch on his back nine to close with a 7-under 65 and finish at 23-under 285 – good for a one-stroke victory over Justin Thomas and Jon Rahm. Rounding out the top five in a tie at 19-under were Russell Henley, Cameron Smith, Bubba Watson and Ryan Palmer.
Woods, who played the final round with Phil Mickelson in front of no fans due to COVID-19 protocols, finished T-72.
PointsBet is our Official Sports Betting Partner, and we may receive compensation if you place a bet on PointsBet for the first time after clicking our links.