Rory McIlroy was headed to Atlanta while Graeme McDowell was bound for home in Orlando and Shane Lowry arrives in Dublin tomorrow morning (MONDAY) with the Claret Jug following three very different outcomes in the BMW Championship in Chicago.
McIlroy’s PGA Tour season, and for a sixth straight season, will wind-up later this week in the Tour Championship at East Lake to the east of the Georgia capital and this after the four-time Major winner posted a final round 71 for an 11-under par total and a frustrating share of 20th place on the Medinah course.
The final round of his penultimate event of the PGA Tour season was another example of McIlroy brilliance with three birdies in succession from the third hole but then McIlroy could have dearly done without the double-bogey at the second and then completing his inward nine in level par.
And McIlroy’s day was seemingly summed-up when he tossed his ball into the water guarding the green after three-putting the par-4 14th hole and appropriately from 14-feet.
As well, and in what must be a first, the PGA Tour did not post one Tweet featuring McIlroy over the last day.
His four-round effort, and in McIlroy’s 18th Tour event of the wraparound season, handed him a top-20 result and only his fifth non top-10 result.
McIlroy was projected very late in the round to again drop a further two places on the FedEx Cup standings to the new No. 5.
McDowell and Lowry both needed a golfing miracle over the last day with McDowell’s season winding up with a closing day 71 for a three-under par total.
‘G Mac’ left the course where he had teamed with McIlroy seven year’s ago officially ending his season 67th on the FedEx standings but has the two-year Tour exemption in winning the Corales Puntacana Championship earlier in the year.
And Lowry has brought the famed Claret Jug back to Ireland after taking it to New York and the ‘Windy City’, and after securing his best finish ever on the PGA Tour of 33rd on the money list.
Lowry arrived in the States 20th on the FedEx Cup points table but after a Medinah closing round 68 or a disappointing five-under par tally to finish just inside the top-50 but with the Offlay golfer missing out on a trip to Atlanta by the closest of margins.
Not that it will worry Lowry who has a five-year Tour exemption in winning The Open.
American Justin Thomas was headed for a 10th PGA Tour win and a first taste of success in just over a year having moved three clear of the field with a handful of holes to play.
Thomas will jump 14 places to No. 1 on the FedEx Cup standings with former No. 1 and also World No. 1 Brooks Koepka hardly raising a Medinah murmur ending the event just outside the top-20 with a 10-under par total.
