Rory McIlroy had his best putting day of the week but the world number two came up just short in his charge at the title at the FedEx St. Jude Classic.
McIlroy shot a bogey free five-under par 66 including a brilliant birdie on 18 to finish one shot outside a play off in a tie for third place. Depsite the near miss, he keeps his 3rd place position in the FedEx Cup standings.
The Northern Irishman told the media that he believes a better putting week would have resulted in a victory.
“Everyone in this field could think about the shots that they could have saved over the course of the four days, but I just think with how good my game has felt from tee to green, I could have maybe taken more advantage of that over the last few days”, he said after his round.
Despite the frustrating near miss, Mcilroy is taking the positives heading into the business end of the season.
“It’s another really solid tournament. If anything it’s just — it’s another, I guess, block in the wall in terms of building the confidence, and from where my confidence was at the PGA Championship in May to where it is now, it’s completely different.
“I’ve been on a nice little run, and yeah, if I — I sort of have to keep it in perspective, and I’m feeling really good about everything” he said.
McIlroy added that he has “ nothing but confidence” heading into the BMW Championship, the penultimate event of the season.
“I’ve been on a nice little run, and I have to keep it in perspective, and I’m feeling really good about everything”.
McIlroy was then asked whether the small putter adjustment he made recently had any impact on the greens.
“It absolutely does. Where that right hand sits, it makes a huge difference”, he said.
At the head of proceedings Lucas Glover made three big putts to stay in the game and then went on beat Patrick Cantlay in the playoff on the first extra hole to win the FedEx St. Jude Championship on Sunday for his second straight victory.
Glover made a 20-foot par putt, a 30-foot bogey putt and a 12-foot par putt over the final six holes to close with a one-under 69 and force the playoff with Cantlay, who surged into contention with a final day 64 at the TPC Southwind.
On 18, Cantlay hit 3-wood that was about a foot from being perfect. Instead, it hopped down the bank and into the water. Glover found the fairway and two-putted for par. Cantlay took a penalty drop and his 20-foot par putt just slid by the right edge.
Glover becomes only the third player in his 40s to win back-to-back weeks on the PGA TOUR over the last 25 years, joining Kenny Perry and Vijay Singh, who did it three times, most recently in the FedExCup Playoffs in 2008.
“Whether you’re fighting something or playing great, you just work hard. You never know when it can turn,” Glover said. “And it turned very quickly for me,” Glover told Amanda Balionis after the round.
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