| Rory McIlroy throws a shot during the final round of The CJ Cup on the PGA Tour on the 18th (Korea time). © AFP=News1 |
Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) has won his 20th career on the PGA Tour.
McIlroy won 1 eagle, 5 birdies, and 1 bogey in the final round of The CJ Cup (total prize of $9.75 million) held at The Summit Club (par 72, 7431 yards) in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA on the 18th (Korean time). combined to make a 6-under-par 66.
With this, McIlroy recorded a final total of 25 under par 263, beating Colin Morikawa (US 24 under par 264) by one stroke to take the championship trophy.
McIlroy added another title in five months since the Wells Paco Championship in May. McIlroy, who has reached the 20-game winning streak, is tied for 35th on the PGA Tour with Greg Norman (Australia) and others.
McIlroy won his first PGA Tour title at the Quail Hollow Championship in May 2010. Since then, he has emerged as the next-generation golf emperor by sweeping major tournaments including the US Open (2011), PGA Championship (2012), The Open (2014), and PGA Championship (2014).
Although there has been no major championship win since 2014, McIlroy showed off his strength by sweeping four wins in 2019. However, in the aftermath of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), 2020 ended without a win, and at one time, the swing was shaken while trying to increase the distance forcibly. However, McIlroy has revived with two wins this year alone.
McIlroy, who was two shots behind the lead until the third round, caught birdies on the 2nd hole (par 3) and 3rd hole (par 5) and quickly reduced the number of strokes. He made a bogey on the 4th hole (par 4), but continued his upward trend with consecutive birdies on the 6th hole (par 5) and the 8th hole (par 4).
McIlroy added a birdie on the 12th hole (par 4). And on the 14th hole (par 5), he succeeded in putting from a distance of about 10.6m and added an eagle. McIlroy widened the gap with second place by three strokes with an eagle and played the rest of the game with plenty of room.
Due to Morikawa’s performance, McIlroy was chased by one stroke ahead of the last 18th hole (par 5). As a result, McIlroy performed a stable game operation and secured the championship. With the second shot, he did not aim directly at the green, but chose a layup and safely selected a 3-on. After that, he caught par with two putts and won the championship trophy.
Fowler, who took the lead until the third round, only reduced one stroke in the final round and finished the tournament in a tie for third place (22 under par 266).
They haven’t won the PGA Tour since the Phoenix Open in February 2019. Fowler, who fell into sluggishness, failed to advance to the playoffs in the 2020-21 season, and participated in this tournament at the invitation of the sponsor, foreshadowing his performance this season by putting his name at the top of the list.
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| Seongjae Lim throws a shot in the final round of The CJ Cup on the PGA Tour on the 18th (Korean time). © AFP=News1 |
Among Korean players, Im Seong-jae (23, CJ Korea Express) ranked the highest. Seongjae Lim, who cut eight strokes on the last day, finished the tournament in a tie for ninth with a final total of 20 under par 268.
Seongjae Lim, who won the Schreiners Children’s Open last week, was ranked in the top 10 for the second week in a row. Im Seong-jae maintained his second place in the FedEx Cup rankings.
Kyung-Hoon Lee (30‧CJ Korea Express) tied for 25th with a final total of 17-under 271. Kang Sung-hoon (34, CJ Korea Express) and Kim Seong-hyeon (23, Webcash) tied for 32nd at 16-under 272 strokes, and Kim Joo-hyeong (19, CJ Korea Express), who is creating a sensation in the Korean Professional Golf Association (KPGA), was 13-under 275 strokes. tied for 49th.
yjra@news1.kr
