Rory McIlroy eyes $10-million FedEx Cup
ATLANTA — Rory McIlroy always thought his big year deserved a big finish. The Tour Championship is his last chance.
McIlroy already has won a pair of majors — the British Open and PGA Championship — sandwiched around a World Golf Championship. He is back to No. 1 in the world and is assured of being there for at least the next two months. He already has wrapped up another PGA Tour money title.
About the only item McIlroy doesn’t have is the FedEx Cup. “After I finished the PGA, all my focus was on the FedEx Cup and trying to win this,” McIlroy said Wednesday.
The trophy — not to mention the $10-million bonus — is up for grabs this week at East Lake. McIlroy didn’t come close to winning the previous three FedEx Cup playoff events, though that never mattered. He is the No. 4 seed going into the Tour Championship, and the top five seeds only have to win the tournament to claim the FedEx Cup.
“Anything other than a win there would be a disappointment,” he said.
McIlroy could win the FedEx Cup without winning the tournament, though recent history would not be on his side. Five of the seven FedEx Cup champions — including the last four — have all won the Tour Championship.
The good news for McIlroy? It might be the easiest tournament for him to win all year. “I only have to beat 28 other guys,” he said.
The 29-man field at East Lake is the smallest for the Tour Championship since the FedEx Cup began in 2007. Dustin Johnson is at No. 30, even though he has taken a “voluntary leave” to seek help for “personal challenges” and has not played since the Canadian Open six weeks ago.
There are no alternates in the FedEx Cup playoffs.
Also missing are Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. This is the first time since 2006 that neither has been at East Lake, and the first time since 1992 that golf ’s two biggest stars didn’t qualify for the Tour Championship. Mickelson had been a pro for only four months. Woods was still in high school.
Mickelson failed to win on the PGA Tour for the first time since 2003 and did not qualify for the top 30. Woods missed three months with back surgery and endured more back problems when he returned and didn’t qualify for any playoff event.
McIlroy was not ready to call that a generational shift just yet.
He had two close encounters with Mickelson this year — they shared second place in Abu Dhabi and McIlroy beat him by one shot at the PGA Championship.
“Phil has played well in parts this year,” he said. “I feel like he’s got a little better as the year has went on .... Tiger is not here just because he’s been injured, or he is injured. He hasn’t had the opportunity to play. But I think if he gets back, and when he gets back to full fitness, you’ll see him back here again. They’re just getting older. They’re getting into the last few holes of their career. And that’s what happens.”