McIlroy pips Furyk for Players Championship
Rory McIlroy made two late birdies amid the wild theatrics of the final round at The Players Championship and closed with a two-under-par 70 to win the next best thing to a major.
It required a major performance down the scary stretch at the TPC Sawgrass yesterday.
McIlroy could not afford to make a mistake over the final hour because of Jim Furyk, the 48-year-old former Ryder Cup captain who nearly pulled off a stunner.
Furyk capped off a 67 with a shot so good into the 18th that he started walking when he hit it. It plopped down three feet from the hole for a birdie to take the lead.
But not for long. McIlroy, one of eight players to have at least a share of the lead in the final round, was coming off a bogey on the 14th to fall behind and was in trouble with a tee shot that found a bunker right of the fairway. He responded with his best shot of the day to 15 feet for birdie.
Then, McIlroy hit the longest drive of the round on the par-five 16th, leaving him a 9-iron from a good lie in the rough to set up a two-shot birdie and the lead.
Most important, he found dry land on the island green par-three 17th.
He was solid to the end on a chilly, cloudy day and finished at 16-under 272 to win The Players on his 10th try.
It might even set up the 29-year-old from Northern Ireland for the Masters next month, the only major he lacks for the career grand slam.
‘‘This is probably the deepest field of the year, with so much on the line,’’ McIlroy said. ‘‘I’m thankful it was my turn this week.’’
Furyk, who finished one shot back, didn’t know he was in The Players until one week ago, and he was on the verge of winning until McIlroy came through in the end. Furyk started the back nine with two birdies and finished strong. His only regret was a three-foot par putt on the 15th.
‘‘A shot here, a shot there, maybe could have been a little different,’’ Furyk said. ‘‘But ultimately, I left it all out there. It was also nice to get in contention, to get under the heat, to have to hit shots under a lot of pressure, and then to respond well to that and hit some good golf shots. It’ll be a confidence boost going forward.’’
Two shots behind McIlroy in a share of third on 14-under 274 were Eddie Pepperell, of England, and Venezuela’s Jhonattan Vegas, who both closed with 66s, with Americans Dustin Johnson and Brandt Snedeker and England’s Tommy Fleetwood tied for fifth on 13-under.