Five shots that tell the story of Rory McIlroy's season

Rory McIlroy won his third FedExCup on Sunday, shooting 66 to take advantage of Scottie Scheffler’s struggles. McIlroy’s 30-foot birdie putt on the 15th hole and his chip shot that bounced off the pin on 16 will be remembered as crucial moments on the season’s final holes, but the journey to becoming a FedExCup champion truly encompasses an entire year.

This was a campaign of satisfying consistency for McIlroy. He finished outside the top 25 in just three of his 16 starts. He had 10 top-10s, including in each of the four majors for the first time in his career. His three wins were his most on TOUR in three years, and this was his fourth season of three-plus victories. And he finished atop Strokes Gained: Total, confirming statistically that he was the season’s most consistent player.

McIroy’s season included rousing Sunday performances, as well as a heartbreaking finish at the game’s most historic venue. All of that led to him being crowned FedExCup champion for a third time.

Here’s a look at five shots that tell the story of McIlroy’s successful season.

1. EAGLE PUTT
THE CJ CUP @ SUMMIT, Final Round
Par-5 14th, The Summit Club

McIlroy made a successful season debut, winning THE CJ CUP @ SUMMIT for a landmark PGA TOUR victory and reassurance after an emotional Ryder Cup, where he and his European teammates were routed in record fashion.

McIlroy held off a charge by The Open champion, Collin Morikawa, who also is a member at The Summit Club. Morikawa shot 62 in the final round to finish a shot back of McIlroy, who shot 66 on the final day.

He seized control with a 35-foot eagle putt from off the green on the par-5 14th green and then played mistake-free down the stretch to stay ahead of clubhouse leader Morikawa. With the win, McIlroy became the 39th player to win 20 times on the PGA TOUR, an accomplishment that also earns him life membership.

McIlroy was coming off a difficult season that saw him win just once and struggle to find consistency as he attempted to make swing changes. THE CJ CUP also was three weeks after the United States’ 19-9 win in the Ryder Cup. A struggling McIlroy sat out a session for the first time in his Ryder Cup career and became emotional in on-camera interviews after winning his singles match over Xander Schauffele for his lone point of the week. McIlroy went 1-3 at Whistling Straits.

But this season-opening win proved to him that he was back on the right track.

“I feel like the last couple weeks I've realized that just being me is good enough,” McIlroy said. “I know that when I do the things that I do well, this is what I'm capable of.

“I'm capable of winning a lot of events on the PGA TOUR and being the best player in the world. It's just a matter of me getting back to playing golf and playing golf my way.”

He was right.

2. TEE SHOT
TOUR Championship, First round
Par-4 1st, East Lake Golf Club

The 30-footer for birdie on 15 in the TOUR Championship’s final round is fodder for highlight reels. The chip that struck the pin on the next hole was the sort of break that’s hard to forget.

But the shot that defines McIlroy’s third TOUR Championship win was his tee shot to start the tournament. Yes, the one that sailed out of bounds and resulted in an opening triple bogey.

McIlroy began the week six shots off the lead. He was nine back after his opening hole and fell a shot farther behind with a bogey on the next hole.

Spotting the No. 1 player in the world 10 shots over 70 holes usually isn’t a winning formula. But McIlroy fought to a 67 on that opening day thanks to eight birdies and an eagle. After that topsy-turvy opening round, McIlroy made just three bogeys over the final 54 holes. He shot 129 on the weekend to post the low 72-hole score of the week (17-under 263). He didn’t take his first lead until the 16th hole Sunday, but it was just in time for him to take home his third FedExCup. His final-round 66 allowed him to overtake Scheffler, who started the final-round with a six-shot lead.

“To claw my way back and end up winning the tournament, incredible,” McIlroy said. “Just really proud of my resilience and how I sort of handled that start and just sort of stuck my head down and kept going all week and took advantage of the opportunity that I was given today.”

3. BUNKER HOLE-OUT
The Masters, Final Round
Par-4 18th, Augusta National Golf Club

The Masters is the lone title missing from McIlroy’s resume. While his towering iron shots and booming drives seem tailor-made for Augusta National, the course has been the scene of heartbreak and disappointment for McIlroy as he seeks the title that stands between him and the career Grand Slam.

It started in 2011, when he shot a final-round 80 after starting the day with a four-shot lead. He had six top-10s in a seven-year span from 2014-20 but none of those were a win, as he was often hampered by big numbers.

McIlroy started the final round of this year’s Masters 10 shots behind Scheffler. Victory was likely out of reach, but McIlroy’s Sunday 64 provided some much-needed positivity before he takes his next crack at the green jacket. The round was highlighted by his bunker hole-out on the final green that included a raucous, if a bit awkward, celebration.

“This tournament never ceases to amaze me. That’s as happy as I’ve ever been on a golf course,” McIlroy said.

It also was the first of McIlroy’s top-10s in all four majors this year, the first time he’s accomplished that in his career.

“I obviously didn't get the win at Augusta, but I played a great final round,” McIlroy said. “It was one of the only Sunday evenings driving back from Augusta National where I've had a smile on my face.

4. APPROACH SHOT
RBC Canadian Open, Final Round
Par-4 17th, St. George’s Golf & Country Club

Rory McIlroy had to wait three years to defend his RBC Canadian Open title, and do so on a different course. It didn’t matter. A second win north of the border came in similar fashion to his win in 2019, with an incredible final round to hold off a strong leaderboard.

McIlroy started the final round of the 2019 RBC Canadian Open at Hamilton Golf & Country Club tied for the lead with Webb Simpson and Matt Kuchar. McIlroy broke out of the pack by shooting 61 to win by seven.

This year, McIlroy and Tony Finau shared the 54-hole lead and played in the final group alongside Justin Thomas. The trio combined to go 20 under in a memorable final round that saw McIlroy emerge victorious by making birdie on the final two holes to shoot 62. Finau and Thomas both shot 64.

“I feel like it’s getting tougher and tougher to win on the PGA TOUR,” McIlroy said. “Just look at the two guys that I played with today. I went out with a lead and had to shoot 8 under par to get the job done. So the depth of talent on this TOUR is really, really impressive. And going up against guys like J.T. and Tony and coming out on top, that’s something to feel really good about.”

After making bogey on No. 16, McIlroy pulled away with a birdie on the hardest hole of the day, the 486-yard, par-4 17th. The hole had allowed just nine birdies all day when McIlroy arrived. His 367-yard drive was the longest of the day by 30 yards. Then he hit his 127-yard approach to 2 feet to take a two-shot lead over Thomas, who bogeyed the hole, and Finau.

For good measure, McIlroy hit his 145-yard approach to 18 to 4 feet for another birdie. That gave him a two-shot win over Finau. Thomas finished in third place, four back.

“It feels really good,” said McIlroy. “For the Canadian Open, a national championship, to have a week like it's had, three of the best players in the world going at it down the stretch, trying to win in front of those crowds and that atmosphere … it doesn’t get much better than that.”

5. PITCH SHOT
The Open Championship, Final round
Par-4 18th, Final round

This season ended victoriously but the scene of McIlroy being driven away from the interview area at St. Andrews with his head resting on his wife’s shoulder also tells an important story about his year. Few players compete with greater awareness of history than McIlroy. There may not be anyone on the PGA TOUR that puts more emphasis on their legacy.

That’s why a win at the Old Course would have meant so much for McIlroy, who started the final round of the 150th Open tied with Viktor Hovland for the lead, four shots ahead of the next-closest players (Cameron Smith and Cameron Young).

Throughout the final round, however, McIlroy struggled to trust his reads or take advantage of the drivable par-4s and reachable par-5s. He hit all 18 greens that Sunday but took 36 putts in a 2-under 70, getting passed by Cameron Smith’s 30 on the back nine.

“I knew that I needed to respond,” McIlroy said. “I just couldn't find the shots or the putts to do that.”

McIlroy missed a 20-footer for birdie on 14, long birdie putts on 15 and 16 and a 15-footer on the difficult 17th after Smith had executed a difficult two-putt from behind the Road Bunker. McIlroy needed to eagle 18, just as Young had done in the group ahead of him, to force a playoff with Smith. There was still an opportunity to rouse the crowd with one final shot on St. Andrews’ short home hole. But when McIlroy’s pitch raced past the hole, the worst nightmares of the partisan fans came true.

“That night was tough,” McIlroy said. “The few days after it were OK, I guess. It probably took me three or four days to be, you know, to sort of get back to myself again. But I think what softened the blow a little bit, I felt -- I should have got the ball up and down on 9, 12 and 14. … You could maybe say the third hole as well, but apart from that, I didn't feel -- I didn't lose it. I think that's what made it a little easier to get over.”

Like in 2019, however, McIlroy rebounded from heartbreak at The Open – he missed the cut that year in the tournament’s return to his native Northern Ireland – to claim the FedExCup.