For much of the season, the narrative has been that Rory McIlroy could not close out tournaments. In his first six starts of the year, Rory did not place lower than sixth in any of his tournaments. Today, on St. Patrick’s Day, the Northern Irishman sealed the deal to capture his 15th career PGA Tour victory at the 2019 PLAYERS Championship and win a golden trophy to go with his gold shoes.
The leaderboard for the 2019 PLAYERS Championship was packed for most of the day with players bunched up around 15-under. 48 year old Jim Furyk made a furious charge to finish runner up while Englishman Eddie Pepperell and Venezuelan Jhonattan Vegas also charged up the leaderboard. 54-hole leader Jon Rahm faded down the stretch with some questionable decision-making while Tommy Fleetwood, who was tied with Rory at the beginning of the day, failed to get anything going all day. In the end, Rory’s patience paid off as he shot 3-under in the back nine on his way to a final round 2-under 70 and the one-shot victory.
This victory ended Rory’s one year victory drought and with the Masters one month away, his game is certainly trending in the right direction as he looks to become the sixth golfer to win the career Grand Slam. Last year, Patrick Reed was able to win his first major title at Augusta while Rory faded in the final round. Could this be the year Rory finally don the green jacket? We can’t wait to find out!
Source: PGA Tour
